Eagles RB Saquon Barkley Called Out for ‘Shocking Regression’
There isn’t any possible way to put a spin on how much Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley has backslid in his follow up to winning NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2024, when he became just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in the regular season.
Every game is further evidence things ain’t what they used. The latest example came in a 28-22 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7 in which Barkley, the highest paid running back in NFL history, had 18 carries for 44 yards.
“It’s a shocking regression,” Fox Sports color commentator and former NFL tight end Greg Olsen said during the broadcast. “It’s just continued today.”
Not only is Barkley not on track to become the first player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in consecutive seasons, he’s not even on track to rush for 1,000 yards this season for the defending Super Bowl champions.
Through 7 games, Barkley has 113 carries for 369 yards and 3 touchdowns. This puts him on track to rush for approximately 896 yards if he plays in all 17 games.
In 2024, Barkley had 766 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns through the first 7 games, including 4 100-yard games. In 2024, he was able to rush for over 2,000 yards while sitting out a meaningless regular season finale against the New York Giants.
Barkley Only Cares About Eagles Winning
Whatever the talking heads might say about Barkley’s stats, the message from the player himself throughout the season has been focused solely on one thing: Winning.
“People get caught up in how winning looks … it’s winning,” Barkley said after the win over the Vikings. “It’s our team beating their team. Whatever it looks like, that’s all that matters. To win the football game. That’s what matters.”
The Eagles can count themselves lucky they have such an incredible team player as the face of their offense. Others on that side of the ball haven’t been that understanding when things don’t go their way even when the Eagles are winning.
In 2024, star wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith made a federal case about not getting the ball enough — and did so during a 10-game winning streak.
Brown did the same thing this year as the Eagles reeled off 4 consecutive wins to open the season.
Barkley Adjusting to Life With New OC
Part of Barkley’s struggles can be chalked up to an offensive line that has struggled with injuries. Part of the struggles can also be tied to first year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who has struggled mightily since last year’s OC, Kellen Moore, left to become the head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
Whatever the problem is, it’s obvious the play calling and blocking isn’t what it was last season. And those factions need to be held accountable. Getting Barkley the ball in his hands at the right times and with the right calls and the right blocking scheme is critical to his success.
That hasn’t happened so far. Until then, the Eagles should count themselves lucky he hasn’t gone Full Diva like his teammates.
“Saquon Barkley still hasn’t reached 100 total yards in a game this season,” Fantasy Football podcast host JJ Zachariason wrote on his official X account on October 20. “He did it in all but three games last regular season. He averaged 143 total yards per game last year. He’s at 72 this year.”
Lions Star Aidan Hutchinson Avoided Punishment for Patrick Mahomes Hit
The Detroit Lions faced plenty of NFL punishment for their testy game against the Kansas City Chiefs, including safety Brian Branch who was handed a one-game suspension for sparking a postgame skirmish when he struck wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
But another Lions star avoided punishment for an earlier hit on quarterback Patrick Mahomes that drew a penalty.
Aidan Hutchinson Escapes Punishment
Hutchinson handed his team a costly penalty in the second half of last week’s 30-17 loss when he came off a block late and hit Mahomes well after the Chiefs quarterback had released the ball. The hit drew a flag for unnecessary roughness and allowed the Chiefs to extend their drive.
Instead of getting the ball back trailing by three points and the chance to tie or take the lead, the Lions watched Mahomes continue to march the Chiefs down the field, ending the drive with a touchdown pass to Marquise Brown to widen their lead to 27-17.
The NFL regularly issues fines for late hits, but Hutchinson avoided punishment when the league announced fines on Saturday. There were two other Lions players — Alex Anzalone and Tyler Lacy — who were handed punishments, however. The league announced that Anzalone was docked $12,172 for “unnecessary roughness” and “striking/kicking/tripping/kneeing.” Lacy was fined $5,722 for “unnecessary roughness” as well.
Hutchinson has had to deal with plenty of borderline hits himself. Earlier this season, the Lions sent a message to the league asking for officials to keep an eye out for illegal low blocks against the team’s star edge rusher.
“The Detroit Lions have taken notice, and they’ve asked the league office to monitor the plays against Aidan Hutchinson,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on Monday Night Countdown last month.
Lions Lose Brian Branch for Critical Game
The biggest hit to the Lions was the one-game suspension for Branch, who appealed but was turned down in his bid to have the punishment overturned. The Lions must now face the 5-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers without one of their top safeties, on top of the hits the team has already taken due to injuries.
Despite Branch’s attempt to appeal the suspension, NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan released a statement saying his unprovoked attack on Smith-Schuster after the final whistle had sounded went beyond the bounds of the game.
“Your aggressive, non-football act was entirely unwarranted, posed a serious risk of injury, and clearly violated the standards of conduct and sportsmanship expected of NFL players. Your conduct reflected poorly on the NFL and has no place in our game,” Runyan said.
While Branch was widely criticized for his postgame actions, Mahomes was more forgiving of the late hit from Hutchinson. He told reporters after last week’s game that he expects hard hits against a physical team like the Lions and didn’t feel it was personal.
“You’re playing football. I mean, you’re being chippy,” Mahomes told reporters. “That’s a physical football team, and they have a mentality that they come in to play with, and we’re going to match that mentality. We’re not afraid to go up against anybody, and that’s the mentality coach (Andy) Reid brings every single day.”
