Eagles RB Saquon Barkley’s True Colors Show After Loss to Cowboys
If you want a study on how to handle success and failure, just look at a pair of Philadelphia Eagles superstars in running back Saquon Barkley and wide receiver A.J. Brown.
When the Eagles are winning and Brown isn’t getting his way, he complains. He blames his quarterback. When they lose and he has a big game, he doesn’t really say anything. Doesn’t ever try to shoulder the blame. Doesn’t defend his teammates. You begin to think as long as Brown gets his, he could care less about anyone else. It’s hard to stomach after awhile.
When the Eagles are winning and Barkley is doing good or bad, he puts the focus back on winning. When he was running for over 2,000 yards and winning NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2024, he spreads the love. His quarterback. His offensive line. His coaches. Everybody got a piece of the glory. In the end, the Eagles won the Super Bowl.
When the Eagles are losing — like they did in a disastrous, 24-21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 12 — Barkley is almost despondent. In terms of statistics, Barkley is having a miserable season and he’s coming off his worst game of the year against the Cowboys with 10 carries for 22 yards.
Barkley’s concern isn’t for stats, though. It’s for playing better so his team wins.
“I’m a big believer that the run game starts with me and ends with me,” Barkley told The Athletic’s Zach Berman on November 25. “I’m in a little funk right now. I’ve had funks before. Just got to break it. Only way I know how is by flushing this, working my butt off, and get ready for the next opportunity.”
The Eagles are 8-3 and face the Chicago Bears, who are also 8-3, in Amazon Prime Video’s Black Friday Game in Week 13.
Barkley’s Projected Numbers Tough to Swallow
The numbers don’t lie. Barkley is having an objectively bad season.
Much of that blame seem to fall — not that Barkley would ever say this — on the offensive line’s struggles. Which won’t get any better with NFL All-Pro right offensive tackle Lane Johnson out for an extended period of time with a foot injury.
Through 11 games, Barkley has rushed for just 684 yards and 4 touchdowns and is averaging a miserable 3.7 yards per carry.
Those numbers project out to 1,057 yards and approximately 6 touchdowns through 17 games — essentially half of his production from last season. He’s also only rushed for over 100 yards once, when he went off for 150 yards in a Week 8 win over the New York Giants.
In 2024, Barkley had 1,392 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns through 11 games and was averaged 5.8 yards per carry.
Barkley Could Still Turn Things Around
With just 6 games left in the regular season, there’s still time for the Eagles and for Barkley to go on a run that reminds everyone why he’s the highest paid running back in NFL history.
Over his final 6 games in 2024, Barkley rushed for 868 yards and 5 touchdowns and averaged 6.2 yards per carry.
“I’ve been kind of nonexistent this year,” Barkley said after the loss to the Cowboys. “I’ve gotta figure it out for the team.”
Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy Gets Revealing Words From NFL Insider
Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy faced another tough outing in Week 12 at Lambeau Field. He went 12-for-19 for 87 yards, threw two interceptions, and was sacked five times as the Vikings fell 23-6 to the Green Bay Packers on November 23.
Over the last few weeks, since returning from injury, McCarthy has been under the spotlight from the national NFL media. Moreover, after his performance against the Packers, it’s only gone up since then.
McCarthy is currently in concussion protocol. Regardless of whether he clears it in time for Week 13, NBC Sports NFL insider Mike Florio believes the Vikings would be better off putting someone else at center, which would be Max Brosmer, based on the traits he’s seeing from McCarthy during these struggles.
“[McCarthy] needs to take a step back,” Florio said on the November 25 edition of “Pro Football Talk Live.” “He’s trying too hard; I feel like he’s thinking too much, and he’s gotten himself into this cycle that he can’t break out of.
“I think it’s useful for him at this point to get a break from playing because it just feels like you can just feel that whole demeanor and the body language and the look on the face. I feel like everything about J.J. McCarthy is [that] he wants to go out there, and on the very next play he wants to make the play that wins the Super Bowl.”
Jon Gruden Gets Honest With Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy
Amid mounting criticism of McCarthy, former NFL head coach Jon Gruden shared his thoughts on the challenges the former Michigan standout has encountered in recent weeks.
“This is going to be a tough process,“ Gruden said on the November 24 edition of “Wake Up Barstool.” “It always is with a young quarterback. I remember going through this with Brett Favre in Green Bay in 1992. There were peaks and valleys.
“I learned from Bill Walsh long ago that we will not save a bad idea at any position. He has to show improvement. Ball security must be better, his mechanics at the line of scrimmage have to improve, and they need to start putting points on the board while competing.”
J.J. McCarthy Gets Encouraging Message From NFL Analyst
Even so, FOX Sports NFL analyst Greg Olsen acknowledged Gruden’s remarks, agreeing that criticism of the Vikings quarterback is warranted, though he stopped short of labeling McCarthy a bust.
“Of course, there’s going to be a learning curve, struggles, and ups and downs, “ Olsen said during the same segment on “Wake Up Barstool. “
“On the other hand, this is a team that won 14 games last year. This is an offense with Jordan Addison, Justin Jefferson, and an offensive line that has been banged up, plus an offensive play caller. There are a lot of pieces here, so maybe you’re not a 14-win offense like last year, but certainly better than what we’ve seen. I think the criticism is warranted.”
