Eagles RB Saquon Barkley had just 17 yards on 5 carries at halftime of Sunday's game against the Saints, which Philly trailed 3-0 at that point. But he used a big second half to finish with 147 yards and 2 TDs on the ground. Barkley delivered a 65-yard TD run to put the Eagles ahead early in the fourth quarter. And then he scored the game's final TD from 4 yards out with 1:01 left. Barkley capped the scoring with a two-point conversion run after that.
NFL Next Gen Stats: "Saquon Barkley reached a top speed of 21.66 mph on his 65-yard TD run, the 2nd-fastest play by a ball carrier this season, and fastest on a run play."
Pending Monday Night Football, Barkley leads the NFL in rushing yards.
Philly opened Sunday's game not running much, including no carries for Barkley among seven first-quarter plays across two possessions. That marks the third straight time this season that Barkley has gotten more carries and tallied more yardage in the second half than the first.
That's an interesting trend, because the Eagles haven't been building leads and playing from ahead. And their QB has more turnovers than TD passes through three games.
I wouldn't be surprised if we get more Barkley runs early over the next couple of games.
A Week 4 matchup with the Bucs will be interesting on that front. Tampa Bay has played the run tougher than the pass for years now and seems likely to still be missing S Antoine Winfield Jr. in Week 4. That could motivate more early passing from the Eagles.
Either way, you have to be happy with the way Barkley's first Philly season has begun.
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