Should Saquon Barkley have had more than 10 carries in Eagles’ blowout loss to Buccaneers? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The good news? Saquon Barkley averaged 8.4 yards per carry.
The bad news? He only had 10 carries.
Barkley came into the Eagles-Buccaneers game averaging an NFL-best 5.6 yards per carry, and the Bucs came into the game with the 28th-ranked run defense, allowing 4.9 yards per carry.
What a mismatch.
Wrong.
Barkley got only two carries on the Eagles’ first three possessions – all 3-and-outs – and didn’t get a carry on first down until the Eagles trailed by 24 points.
He ran 59 yards on the first play of the third quarter to set up Jalen Hurts’ rushing TD, but he only got one more carry the rest of the game.
Should the NFL rushing leader and early MVP candidate have had more than 10 carries?
On the one hand, the game got away from the Eagles quickly, and it’s hard to run the ball a whole lot when you’re down 24-0.
On the other hand, if play caller Kellen Moore had gotten Barkley involved earlier, maybe the game wouldn’t have gotten away from the Eagles as quickly.
“It’s easy for me to sit here and be like, ‘Oh, I need this many touches or that many touches,’” Barkley said post-game at Raymond James Stadium after the Bucs’ 33-16 win. “But at the end of the day, my job is to run the football and when my number is called, I try to make the play.
“We have all the trust in Kellen. He’s been doing a great job this year, and we’re going to continue to grow and get better.”
The Eagles’ first three drives went 3-and-out, and when they got the ball for their fourth drive they were down 24-0.
Barkley got the ball on the Eagles’ first two second-down plays, picking up zero and three yards. He didn’t get another carry until 6 ½ minutes left in the second quarter.
In all, he got four carries on first down and netted 74 yards.
Without A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, Barkley and Goedert were really the Eagles’ only legit weapons.
And the reality is that with the personnel the Eagles had Sunday in Tampa, they were far more likely to hit a big play with Barkley running the ball than with Jalen Hurts throwing it.
Sirianni was asked post-game why the Eagles didn’t make more of an effort to get the ball to Barkley, who carried on two of the Eagles’ first 12 plays from scrimmage.
“We had nine plays (in the first quarter),” Sirianni said. “When you have nine plays, and three of them are third downs, now he had two carries on six plays (that weren’t third down). When you go 3-and-out, no one’s going to have any touches.
“Obviously, we want to get him touching the ball, but when you don’t sustain drives, then you’re not going to be able to.
“Listen, we didn’t coach well enough and we didn’t play well enough.”
Barkley did catch two passes for 32 yards so despite just 12 touches he netted 116 scrimmage yards, his fourth straight game to open the season with at least 100 yards – 132, 116, 156 and 116.
The only other Eagle to open a season with at least 115 scrimmage yards in each of the first four games is Timmy Brown in 1965.
Barkley is third in the league in both rushing yards and scrimmage yards. His 6.0 average is highest by an Eagles back four games into a season since Bosh Pritchard had a 6.0 four games into the 1949 NFL Championships season.
He’s only the 12th running back in NFL history with 500 scrimmage yards, five touchdowns and a 6.0 average after four games.
All of which makes it disappointing that he only had two carries before the Buccaneers had 24 points.
“Yeah, it’s tough when you’re down 21-zip (after three drives),” Barkley said. “That’s what comes with being a running back. When I’m able to get going, I think the offensive line does a really good job and I think I’m getting a better feel for them throughout the season. All three sides, all three phases, we’ve got to do a better job. I don’t think we’ve put together a complete game – or even close to a complete game – so far this season.
“But the beauty of it is, it’s not college football. … Everything we still want to accomplish is right in front of us. Go to a bye week at a much needed time, get healthier, come out and get ready to roll.”
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