Saquon Barkley is Really Good
I was dazzled and mystified at the same time on Sunday night as the Eagles and Saquon Barkley dismantled the Los Angeles Rams, 37-20, and all but clinched the NFC East.
For some reason, every question that raced through my head began with the word How?
- How good are the Eagles this season? Good enough to end it with – gulp! – a parade?
- How amazing is Saquon Barkley, who may well be the most talented running back in Eagles history?
- How did Eagles GM Howie Roseman see what so many others can’t anymore – that elite running backs still matter?
- How in God’s name could the Giants let a generational talent like Barkley walk away in free agency?
- How can the Giants GM Joe Shoen still have a job in the NFL?
I realize that I forfeited my credibility when I predicted doom and gloom for the Birds this season, so let me approach what happened on Sunday night as simply a delighted fan of the team.
Wow!
The Eagles have so much talent, especially on offense, that I actually forgot for most of the night that DeVonta Smith was not in LA because of a hamstring injury. Clearly, the Rams had no answers for the Eagles offensive line, for A.J. Brown, for Jalen Hurts or for that new guy wearing No. 26.
The Eagles have already pretty much secured the division title and are closing in clinching the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff rankings. The only team ahead of them is Detroit, and the Lions don’t have a weapon like Barkley. No one does.
Rather than dig deep into my bag of superlatives, I’ll just rattle off some numbers. Barkley had a combined 302 yards of offense in LA, including 255 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Those first two numbers are Eagles records.
Behind a first-rate offensive line, he is a bomb ready to explode at any point in a game, as his TD runs of 70 and 72 yards illustrated. He can bowl over tacklers, he can juke them out of their cleats, he can spin and shimmy and pulverize like no one who has ever won an Eagles uniform.
Of course, this skill package raises a few interesting issues, starting with Roseman’s brilliant decision to sign a running back to a three-year, $38-million contract despite the idiotic belief in the NFL that running backs have far less value in this era.
To say that Howie had a spectacular off-season after the 2023 collapse would be a ridiculous understatement. The GM drafted two brilliant rookie defensive backs, Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell, rescued right guard Mekhi Becton off the Jets’ scrap heap, and signed the new consensus pick for MVP in Barkley.
How is that possible? How could any team watch Barkley for six seasons and not see the unique talents and remarkable versatility that he brings to the field every week? Did a few injuries along the way scare away the Giants from re-signing him? Or did they never really understand how good he is because their offensive line was pitiful throughout his tenure in the Meadowlands?
The most revealing stat I saw during the surprisingly tolerable NBC broadcast Sunday night was this: Barkley gained 1.4 yards per carry before contact with the Giants, and 2.6 yards with the Eagles. Almost double. And what that stat doesn’t tell is that, with that extra yard-plus to gain momentum, Barkley can unleash his 21-mph foot speed and rip right through holes in the defense.
The genius who thought it was a good idea to let Barkley leave the Giants is Joe Schoen. If you aren’t familiar with his recent work, the GM also signed quarterback Daniel Jones to a four-year, $160-million deal in 2022. Jones was released last week.
Somehow, Schoen received a vote of confidence a few days ago from owner John Mara, yet another example of the sons of billionaires having no clue how to follow in the footsteps of their billionaire dads.
But, hey, that’s their problem, not ours. Because of the decision to let Barkley go, the Eagles have the most talented offense in their history. I doubt anyone would want to debate that opinion this week, not after what Barkley just did.
And the defense is so much better with the new kids in the secondary and the emergence of Zack Baun and especially Nakobe Dean as impactful linebackers. The one area of concern still is the end rushers, and that leads to my one negative thought.
The best defensive end on the team this year, I believe, has been 36-year-old Super-Bowl hero Brandon Graham. He was brilliant again on Sunday night, harassing QB Matthew Stafford and blowing up plays with his lethal combination of speed and smarts.
Unfortunately, Graham is done for 2024. Late in the game, he tore a triceps muscle. True to his fan-friendly nature, he revealed the news himself to reporters in the locker room. He even suggested that Sunday night might have been his final game in the NFL, since his plan has been to retire after his 15th season.
Based solely on his play, he will be back next year. First of all, he’s still getting the job done. Second, he is a leader both on and off the field, a key reason for this entire era of success. And third, he cannot end his extraordinary career this way.
He will be back. He means too much, to the city and to the team, for this to be the end.
His sudden loss does lead to one final how question, though: How will the Eagles defense replace Brandon Graham?
I have no clue, nor would anyone expect me to after my shameful prediction of a five-win season. But if I learned anything from this shocking 9-2 start and seven-game winning streak. I learned that Howie Roseman will figure it out. In fact, he probably already has.
This is not just Saquon Barkley’s year.
It’s Howie Roseman’s year, too.