Philadelphia Eagles News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Dec 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) hands off to running back Saquon Barkley (26) during the third quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Lincoln Financial Field. Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Eagles' One-Two Punch In Backfield Shows Progress

Originally posted on Philadelphia Eagles on SI
By John McMullen | Last updated Dec 16, 2025 4:12 PM ET

It was always going to be difficult to follow what was a historic rushing season en route to a Super Bowl LIX championship for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Saquon Barkley’s 2,504 rushing yards through the postseason broke Terrell Davis’ quarter-century-old record, and from a team perspective, the Eagles had the sixth-best rushing performance in NFL history.

The sequel isn’t living up to the original, with Barkley at 940 yards at less than 4.0 per carry with three regular-season games left to play.

Things improved in a 31-0 rout of hapless Las Vegas with 183 yards on the ground, although things remained under the 4.0 barrier at 3.9 despite an added punch from quarterback Jalen Hurts helping out.

Barkley had 78 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown through three quarters, while backup Tank Bigsby closed a run-heavy fourth quarter with 17 carries for 54 yards.

The volume was present in the traditional run game due to the game’s personality, but the efficiency remained less-than-optimal for both backs, at least on the surface.

With significant wind gusts demanding it, the Eagles went into the game with the idea to run the football at a significant rate.

Clearer Picture?

To that end, Philadelphia went under center a season-high 30 of 66 (45.4%) snaps against the Raiders in an attempt to go ground-and-pound with some play-action sprinkled in.

The results were positive, if unspectacular, from a running standpoint.

“When you're being successful on third down, you're able to get more of those runs called. Drives are extending,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said. “We were also in a [17], I think [17], play drive at the end of the game where we obviously had a lot of runs, and I think [only] three, maybe two or three, passes in that area.

“I love the one-two punch we have with Saquon and Tank. Both are great runners. When Saquon needs a break, Tank goes in and that shows itself throughout some of these long drives. You're really grateful that you're able to have that one-two punch that we feel like we have.”

Last season's one-two punch of Barkley and Kenny Gainwell was a better fot with the latter proving to be a nice changeup to the All-Pro thanks to his slippery running style and pass-catching ability.

Out in Pittsburgh, veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers raves about Gainwell after an emphatic win over Miami on Monday night, pointing out the value Gainwell has provided on a one-year, $1.8 million deal.

A favorite of Sirianni and Hurts, Gainwell should have been re-signed at that proce although there is some though the Memphis prodcut valued the opportunity to play more.

Either way things unfolded the way they did and GM Howie Roseman was forced to send to Day 3 picks to Jacksonville for Bigsby to backup Barkley after veteran A.J. Dillon failed to step forward. Meanwhile, second-year pro Will Shipley is more receiver than runner at this stage and the Eagles are a team isn't going to provide volume as a pass-cather out of the backfield.

There's still some time to figure the backfield pictire out and the Eagles took some positive steps against the Raiders to clearly outline a layed setup with Bigsby is the volume back behind Barkley and Shipley more of the pass-catching option.

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

More must-reads: