The Philadelphia Eagles' offense has been obsessed with trying to get running back Saquon Barkley going all season, and it hasn't worked until recently.
Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo has been way too inconsistent with the play-calling to give Barkley a chance to be successful. Still, over the last three games, Barkley has been averaging roughly 21 carries a game and has rushed for at least 70 yards in each of those games. He's also had over 100 yards twice in the last three weeks.
In the 29-18 win over the Washington Commanders in Week 16, Barkley posted the second-best numbers of the season with 132 yards and one touchdown in the victory. There was one other nice performance out of the backfield that Eagles fans were happy to see get more carries, which might play a key role in the Week 17 showdown against the Buffalo Bills.
The Eagles should let Tank Bigsby have a lot of touches
Buffalo is going to be zoned in on Barkley and making sure he doesn't break loose a big run. Bills head coach Sean McDermott spoke highly of Barkley in calling him a future Hall of Famer.
It would be the perfect opportunity for backup running back Tank Bigsby to have a breakout performance. The Eagles have been hesitant in letting Bigsby get carries with Barkley in the backfield, but the last two games have shown that Bigsby is ready for more carries.
Despite both games being blowouts, Bigsby has shown great potential, rushing 21 times for 94 yards and one touchdown across the Las Vegas Raiders and Commanders games. He scored his first touchdown as an Eagle in the win over Washington.
The last two games weren't even his best performances, as he ran for 104 yards in the second New York Giants matchup back in October. In that game, he broke out a 29-yard run and had multiple long runs in place of Barkley, who left the game early with an injury.
For the season, Bigsby has run for 274 yards and one touchdown. He's averaging 6.1 yards per carry on the year.
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Patullo is starting to trust Bigsby more, which is what Eagles fans have been asking for all year as they have seen it with the running back early. Getting Bigsby involved in the game plan against Buffalo will help the Eagles' running game get loose in a big way.