Saquon Barkley's 2nd Season With Eagles Has Been Shockingly-Different
The 2025 season has certainly not gone as expected for the Philadelphia Eagles' running game.
Last season, Saquon Barkley had one of the most dominant seasons from a running back in National Football League history. Barkley racked up 2,005 rushing yards in the regular season in 16 games and became the first player in NFL history to tally over 2,500 total rushing yards in a season, including the playoffs.
The 2025 season hasn't been easy, though. Last year, Barkley averaged 125.3 rushing yards per game. This season, he is averaging 62.2 rushing yards per game in 11 games. Last season, Barkley had 1,392 rushing yards in 11 games. This season, he has 684. That has him ranked at No. 14 in the league in the category.
It's been an odd season for Saquon Barkley
Another thing that is pretty shocking is how far Barkley has dropped when it comes to Pro Football Focus grading. Barkley has a 62.7 overall PFF grade, good for 44th among running backs this season.
This has led to some odd takes on social media, specifically in reference to No. 2 running back Tank Bigsby. The 24-year-old has looked explosive in limited opportunities. But even with Barkley struggling, there isn't a world in which he should lose carries to anyone. Bigsby has shown flashes and can be a really good No. 2. He showed that in the last New York Giants game, for example. He had nine carries for 104 yards on Oct. 26. That game, Barkley exited early.
Since then, he has had eight total carries in three games for 49 yards.
One thing that is important to note when it comes to Barkley, and the entire offense overall, is the fact that the offensive line has been banged up all season. Right now, Lane Johnson is out. But he isn't the only one who has been bitten by the injury bug. In fact, each starting lineman has been banged up in some way this season.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni spoke about getting Barkley action earlier in the week.
"Obviously, we want to go out and put our best effort out at every point, and I felt like when I watched the tape, I saw the effort sky high on both sides of the ball (and) on special teams," Sirianni said. "Obviously, they went and they got the win. There are always things that factor into it as far as our determination, our effort. I saw that it was high and we all have to be there. I think, like I said, we were.
"Obviously, Saquon felt something last night and he's got a great pulse for everything. But as you look at the tape -- which obviously after the game, we don't have the luxury of looking at the tape before we go in and talk to you guys, but I felt like the effort was really, really high in that game. Hats off to Dallas, they played a good game and they got us."
At the end of the day, it's easy to look at the team and point fingers in various ways. Barkley hasn't been as productive this season as he was last year, but this is still one of the most talented players in the NFL we're talking about. Things haven't worked out so far this season, but he's the type of player who can flip the narrative.
Daron Payne Shares His Regret After Suspension for Punching Amon-Ra St. Brown
Washington Commanders defensive lineman Daron Payne might not have taken the correct lesson from his one-game suspension for punching Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Payne’s one-game ban is up this week, and he addressed the incident on Wednesday with the media. When asked what he learned from the incident, the defensive tackle kept it simple.
“I just know, next time, just do it in the moment instead of wait after the play,” Payne said. “Just do it in the moment.”
Payne was suspended for punching St. Brown, seemingly without provocation. Video later emerged showing that St. Brown instigated the whole thing, but officials missed his role in the situation because Payne waited a bit to retaliate.
St. Brown was ultimately fined for the incident, but Payne definitely got the harsher punishment. On the other hand, officials are always more likely to see the retaliation than the start of the incident. That happened to Jalen Ramsey as well.
Payne is in his eighth NFL season. He has 35 career sacks, but just one this season.
