Saquon Barkley subtly dodges injury questions after win over Steelers

The Philadelphia Eagles made a statement on Sunday as they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers for their 10th win in a row.

However, as was the case after last week's victory, there were definitely some key talking points in the locker room afterwards. None might be more of a worrying topic than that of running back Saquon Barkley, who appeared to have suffered an injury in this one.

At one point in the first half, Barkley was hit by Steelers defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick near his thigh/knee area. He went a pretty lengthy stretch without coming back to the field, which sent a lot of Eagles fans into somewhat of a momentary panic, and for good reason.

The veteran running back would return to the game later on, but did see Kenneth Gainwell spell him at times, causing some to wonder whether or not Barkley was, indeed, healthy enough to be out there. After the win, Barkley was asked about his absence during the game, to which he did acknowledge he "was dealing with something," per EJ Smith of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Barkley had an opportunity to provide more details on the nature of whatever it was he was dealing with, but declined.

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"I'm not going to go too much into that, but the guys stepped up big, Kenny was able to make some big plays for us and I was able to tough it out," he said.

So, as of right now, we're not quite sure what's going on with Barkley.

The Eagles should forget Eric Dickerson's record and play it safe with Saquon Barkley

This season has been fun for a lot of reasons, but one of the main reasons has been the idea that Barkley could end up breaking the all-time single-season rushing record held by Eric Dickerson, who totaled 2,105 back in 1984.

At one point, Barkley looked to be on pace to break Dickerson's number. But, at this point, he would need just under 500 yards over the final three games in order to make it a reality. Barkley currently sits at 1,623 rushing yards in 14 games. That leaves him 483 yards shy of surpassing Dickerson's record.

Barkley would need to average 161 yards per game over his final three in order to make history, and with his current state (whatever that is) the Eagles cannot afford to risk it. While Barkley has acknowledged how he's definitely thought about breaking the record, he's also continued to maintain the opinion that winning takes the cake over any and all individual accolades.

For the sake of his health and the sake of winning in the postseason, Philadelphia should opt to err on the side of caution over these final three games. Philly has locked up a playoff spot, but positioning can still fluctuate depending on how the season ends.

And, although the Eagles could still potentially wind up with the no. 1 seed in the NFC, once again, keeping Barkley upright and healthy should be a higher priority. After all, it wouldn't do them any good finishing the regular season strong if it came at the cost of losing Barkley to a more serious injury.