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Saquon Barkley, Miles Sanders share moment after Cowboys vs. Eagles NFL season opener

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Nick Kosko | Last updated Sep 6, 2025 11:05 AM ET

Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders shared a nice moment following the Eagles’ 24-20 win over the Cowboys Thursday. The two running backs were teammates at Penn State.

Sanders, who was drafted by Philadelphia, is in his first season with Dallas while Barkley is in his second in Philly. Once Barkley left Penn State, Sanders took over and was very productive for the Nittany Lions, making him a second round pick by the Eagles.

The two have seen each other within the division before, but this one might’ve been a little more emotional. With the Eagles coming off a Super Bowl, Sanders made his return to Philadelphia after not playing in Carolina’s loss to the Eagles last season. Plus, the two RBs got to reunite.

.@PennStateFball alums link up after the game pic.twitter.com/wLWIxfXJ6r
— NFL (@NFL) September 5, 2025

Barkley finished the game with 18 carries for 60 yards, one touchdown, four catches and 24 receiving yards. Sanders had four carries for 53 yards, including a 51-yard scamper. However, Sanders fumbled which ultimately aided the Eagles’ win on Thursday.

Back in 2022, Sanders had a career season and helped the Eagles get to Super Bowl LVII, a 38-35 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He ran for 1,269 yards, 11 touchdowns and 4.9 yards per carry. However, Philadelphia opted not to re-sign him as he signed a four-year, $25.4 million deal in Carolina. Philadelphia ended up bringing in D’Andre Swift for a season.

But in 2024, the Eagles struck gold with Barkley coming over from the New York Giants. Of course, Philadelphia went on to dominate last season and won Super Bowl LIX.

It’ll be interesting to see how Barkley and Sanders play when they’re pitted against each other later this season. At Penn State, Barkley was the bellcow and Sanders never really got a chance to get going until after Barkley left for the NFL.

Sanders had less than 400 yards in his first two seasons at Penn State until he ran for 1,274 yards and nine touchdowns in 2018. Barkley topped 1,000 yards each year at Penn State and finished his college career with 3,843 yards, 43 touchdowns and 5.7 yards per carry. He also had 102 catches for 1,195 yards and eight touchdowns.

Barkley and the Eagles head to Kansas City next Sunday for a rematch with the Chiefs at 4:25 p.m. ET. Sanders and the Cowboys will host the Giants that same day at 1:00 p.m. ET.

This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

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