‘All he needs is a bit of daylight’: how Saquon Barkley became the NFL’s most dangerous weapon

baltimore Ravens nose tackle Travis Jones dropped fantastic Saquon Barkley to the cold grass for a one-yard loss on his only carry of the third quarter on Sunday, leaving the running back with 44 yards rushing on the day. Barkley has had four wears this season for more distance.

The Ravens had done a decent job with Barkley up to that point, but football games are four quarters, not three, and Barkley only seems to be getting stronger these days. Like the Philadelphia Eagles recorded a 24-19 victory over a fellow playoff contender, Barkley finished with 107 yards rushing.

That fourth quarter included 11 carries for Barkley, including a 25-yard touchdown sprint, then six straight carries on a five-minute drive that ended with a field goal. Statistically it wasn’t his best game, but Barkley once again showed what he can do with a game on the line.

“He makes good situations out of bad things everywhere,” Eagles guard Landon Dickerson said.

Barkel now leads the NFL with 1,499 yards rushingon pace to surpass Eric Dickerson’s 40-year-old single-season record of 2,105 yards, which was set when the season was 16 games instead of 17. Of much more significance to Barkley is that the Eagles are 10-2, winners of eight straight games .

Of those 1,499 yards, 982 came after halftime, and 481 came in the fourth quarter – with six touchdowns and 17 first downs. Sunday was notable because the Ravens had the No. 2 rushing defense in the NFL and did not allow an opponent to rush for 100 yards.

Baltimore’s plan to stop Barkley was to build a mighty wall and pay attention to closing the gaps. Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike said afterward: “For the most part we did that, but at the end of the game we let it slip away. We just let it get away from us.”

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Barkley, 27, the former Penn State star who was the second overall pick in the 2018 draft, spent six seasons with the New York Giants and appeared in two playoff games. He played in every game only in his rookie season.

After a 2-2 start, the Eagles have become bona fide Super Bowl contenders this season. M&T Bank Stadium virtually emptied after the field goal made it 24-12, leaving jubilant Eagles fans in green, scattered across the purple seats, to chant: “MVP! MVP!” at Barkley. He heard them.

“My mentality goes straight to the dressing room to enjoy the victory,” he said after the match.

Barkley was grateful for a second chance, but he also happens to be running behind the best offensive line in the NFL despite the retirement of center Jason Kelce. In turn, the addition of Barkley seems to have given that offensive line a boost. It’s a coincidence.

“You’ve got Saquon there, and he can make you look better,” Philadelphia veteran offensive tackle Lane Johnson said.

Barkley can jump through the gaps and break a long run. Barkley had two 70-yard touchdown runs as part of an almost absurd club-record 255 yards on Nov. 24 against the Los Angeles Rams. He has 11 carries of at least 20 yards this season.

Barkley was asked Sunday if he had ever had more fun on a field. He misunderstood the question and started talking about his fourth-quarter fumble that he recovered. He said, perhaps exaggerating a bit, that he hadn’t been this angry with himself since he was a “little kid.”

No: pleasure, not awkward. Barley smiled.

“I’m having a blast,” he said.

Much to the dismay of fans of the Eagles’ archrival Giants, Barkley signed a three-year, $37.75 million free-agent deal in March with Philadelphia, which plays just about an hour south of Allentown, where Barkley attended high school. It felt a bit like coming home.

Barkley was excited to take on the challenge of joining a new team. The Eagles sound like they’re a good team to be around, and Barkley said he’s enjoyed the camaraderie: conversations at the lunch table, with his teammates through the weight room sessions.

“It kind of gives me a college vibe, a college feeling,” he said Sunday.

Jalen Hurts, the Eagles’ dual-threat quarterback, has become more effective. Hurts threw for just 118 yards on Sunday and added 29 yards on nine carries, but Nick Sirianni, their loquacious coach, said Hurts had a strong game.

“I wish they could give an O-line the MVP,” Sirianni said.

Hurts, who speaks softly and carefully, said, “I really appreciate the way our O-line plays in those moments and how Saquon consistently goes downhill and finishes a little bit,” Hurts said. “I see him making a big impact on our team this year, especially in those moments, especially when we have to lean on him at the end of the game.”

It was Barkley’s eighth 100-yard game of the season, tying Wilbert Montgomery’s 43-year-old team record with five games remaining. Barkley is 109 yards away from breaking LeSean McCoy’s 11-year-old Eaglees single-season rushing record. Barkley has bigger things in mind.

Philadelphia had a bit of luck on Sunday: Justin Tucker, the veteran Baltimore kicker battling a puzzling slump, missed two field goal attempts and an extra-point attempt, rendering a Lamar Jackson touchdown pass irrelevant with three seconds left.

But the Eagles had also persevered. Sirianni was elated and nearly received a penalty for running across the field to congratulate wide receivers Parris Campbell and Jahan Dotson for throwing blocks downfield that allowed Barkley to complete his 25-yard touchdown run.

Of the 1-6 finish that blew their 2023 season to smithereens, Sirianni said Sunday: “Last year is over. It’s not about last year for us. We learned what we needed to learn from last year.”

Well, Barkley wasn’t there last year.

“It’s a blessing to have coaches who trust me, who can lean on me,” he said. “We are very good at a lot of things, but we just have to keep trusting the system – we just have to keep trusting the guys up front.”

And right back to you, Saquon. The guys in the trenches up front have come to appreciate the guy they block for. As Lane Johnson said, “When you got a man like that, all he needs is a little daylight.”