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Oct 26, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs against the New York Giants in the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Eagles Get Good News On Superstar RB

Originally posted on Philadelphia Eagles on SI
By John McMullen | Last updated Oct 26, 2025 6:33 PM ET

It took until Week 8 for the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year to get going, but it didn't take long.

It was 17 seconds to be exact when Saquon Barkley took an EZPass lane provided by Brett Toth, Landon Dickerson, and Jordan Mailata 65 yards to paydirt to set the tone in what turned into a 38-20 blowout of the New York Giants.

After a historic season in which he crossed the 2,000-barrier in 2024 (2,005 to be exact), Barkley had been buttoned up early in this campaign, coming into Sunday's game on pace for 896 yards while averaging just 3.3 yards per carry.

Getting off to a 65-yard head start was a pretty good indication that Barkley was going to breeze by his season-high of 88 yards in Week 2 against Kansas City, and sure enough, he brushed by the century mark before the two-minute warning in the second quarter.

By the time it was done, Barkley had rushed for 150 yards on 14 carries, 10.7 yards per clip in just three quarters.

That performance boosted the All-Pro's season yards per carry to 4.1. still-not Barkley-esqe but far more respectable.

Barkley's last run of the afternoon, a 28-yard burst around right end on the final play of the third quarter, put a Halloween-worthy scare into all of Philadelphia.

The superstar pulled up with what looked like a hamstring tweak, but eventually confirmed as a groin.

It was a sinking feeling to the idea that this is just not Barkley's season until the RB1 showed up in the post-game locker room as usual and intimated he'd be good to go for the Eagles' next game on Nov. 10 at the Green Bay Packers.

Not Worried

"I wasn’t worried about it," Barkley said when asked about the injury. "I came off, but nothing crazy. It’s a long season. I tried my best. I always listen to the trainers and the coaches, and they felt like they could (finish) the game without me.

"It was fun to be a cheerleader on the sideline, and see Tank [Bigsby] and Will [Shipley] go out there."

At the time of Barkley's injury, the Eagles were leading 24-13 but his game status was confirmed as questionable to return with 6:37 left in the game, quarterback Jalen Hurts struck on the next play, hitting Jahan Dotson on a 40-yard TD with 5:59 remaining to make it a 38-13 game.

It would have been a dereliction of duty to put Barkley back in at that point, especially with Bigsby gashing the Giants' run defense to the tune of nine carries for 104 yards, an 11.6 average.

"I went out swinging. I’ll say that. But (trainer Tom Hunkele) has been doing this for a long time. So it’s a smart thing to listen to him," Barkley said.

Coming out of a Week 9 bye, the Eagles will now have a rejuvenated running game with Barkley ready to go against a talented Packers team.

"When it comes together, it’s a thing of beauty," Barkley said of the Eagles' running game. "That first run is what it looked like for a very long time. You give us space – and that’s what teams try to do, they don’t want to give us any space – you gives us a chance, you give us space, and good luck."

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

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