Oct 19, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) warms up before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

AJ Brown’s Absence Should Unleash Eagles’ Saquon Barkley

Originally posted on Philadelphia Eagles on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Oct 25, 2025 4:18 PM ET

The Philadelphia Eagles are preparing for their second matchup against the New York Giants in three weeks.

New York was able to pull off the upset in Week 6, but the Eagles took a step back in the right direction in Week 7 and now will welcome one of its biggest rivals to Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon. The biggest news of the week was the Eagles losing AJ Brown for the matchup due to a hamstring injury.

While this is the case, the Eagles' offense should still be able to get the ball moving and it should start with Saquon Barkley. If there ever was a time for Barkley to get it going, it would be on Sunday. Last year, much was made about Barkley coming over to Philadelphia after spending the beginning of his career with the Giants. That's not as big of a talking point this year, but Sunday actually will be the first time he faces his old team as a member of the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

Week 8 should be Saquon Barkley's day to shine

The Eagles obviously faced the Giants twice last year, but Barkley and the starters were rested for the Week 18 matchup at home. On the road, Barkley was brilliant against his old team finishing the matchup with 176 rushing yards on 17 carries to go along with a touchdown.

This season hasn't gone as planned for Barkley. He has 369 total rushing yards in seven games to go along with three rushing touchdowns. In comparison, Barkley had 326 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the three games that Brown missed early on last year from Week 2 through Week 4. He averaged 6.7 yards per rush with Brown out, in comparison to 3.3 rushes per attempt this year.

With Brown set to miss Week 8, the Eagles need to turn to the running game more. Barkley had 18 carries for 44 yards last week, 12 rushes for 58 yards the week before against the Giants, and six carries for 30 yards against the Denver Broncos.

Although it's unfortunate that Brown is out, Barkley had success when he was out last year and there's some added theatrics to the matchup as it's Barkley's first matchup at home against the Giants as a member of the Eagles and Philadelphia is looking for revenge. With that being said, if there was a time to think Barkley could breakout, it would be this week.

This article first appeared on Philadelphia Eagles on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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