What a pleasure it was for Philadelphia Eagles fans to watch running back Saquon Barkley start to build some momentum over the last two games after a tough start to the season.
Barkley has rushed for 200 yards and two touchdowns against the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders combined, the second-best two-game stretch for him this season. What's working well in this stretch is that he's touching the ball 20 and 22 times in those games, which helps in getting the most important offensive player involved in the game plan.
It appears as though it is starting to work out well for the Eagles to run the ball and become a more well-balanced unit. One thing Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo can't ignore, though, is that they can still be a balanced attack with running the ball, but not just with Barkley.
Eagles need to get others involved other than Barkley
How often this season did Eagles fans scream for quarterback Jalen Hurts to get more QB-designed runs for himself? Or how about begging for Tank Bigsby to get more involved in the offense?
Week 15's 31-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders was a perfect example of what kind of rushing attack the Eagles must have. They got the ball to Bigsby for 17 carries for 57 yards, and Hurts carried the ball seven times for 39 yards. Barkley had a nice game with 78 yards on 22 carries.
Sure, a lot of Bigsby's carries were from the fourth quarter when the starters were benched, but that stat line is the kind of stat line that has to happen game after game. It shouldn't be just Barkley running it like it has been all season, as that will lead to bad games, as he has had more often than he should.
This Eagles' offense was so good last year because the threat of Hurts' legs made it harder for the defense to pick who to commit to on a run. That threat has been missing for three months.
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While everyone would love for Barkley to have 25 to 30 carries a game, he really shouldn't. Getting Bigsby and Hurts more involved moving forward is the only way that not only Barkley can pick up on his yards per carry, but the Eagles can pull out some more wins.