Will the Real Saquon Barkley Please Stand Up?

Philly's entire offense has been a puzzling conundrum all season long, as the passing game has been just as inconsistent and uninspiring as the ground attack. Much of the blame for that ineptitude has fallen on the shoulders of offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who is calling plays for the first time in his career. Patullo served as Philly's pass game coordinator last season, and replaced Kellen Moore after the latter left to take the head coach job with the New Orleans Saints.

Amid the offense's troubles, it appears the head coach Nick Sirianni is taking a more hands-on approach to that side of the ball, according to this report from ESPN's Tim McManus.

So, will we see a more productive and effective Barkley on Monday night against the Los Angeles Chargers?

Barkley and the Eagles will be facing a defense that ranks 12th in the NFL against the run so far this season, giving up just shy of 107 yards per game on the ground. That might be a somewhat misleading number, though, given that the Chargers also rank 25th in the league against the run on a per-carry basis, giving up 4.6 yards per attempt. Opponents have scored 14 rushing touchdowns against the Chargers so far this season, tied for 10th-most in the league.

That per-carry average indicates that Barkley could find some running room Monday night, but he'll have to do it without his best offensive lineman. Lane Johnson, arguably the best right tackle in the NFL, has been ruled out for Monday night's game with a foot injury.

There have already been flashes of last year's big-play ability for Barkley sprinkled throughout the 2025 season so far, and most of them have come from shotgun formations and 11 personnel (one tight end, one running back), as the Philly Enquirer's Devin Jackson points out in this thread:

It seems obvious that the blueprint is there for the Eagles to set Barkley up for success, but it's up to the coaching staff to keep calling what works, and the offensive line has to execute despite the absence of Johnson.

Earlier this week, left tackle Jordan Mailata made it clear that the offensive line needs to raise their level of execution in the ground game, but also indicated they might have some new wrinkles up their sleeve to jumpstart things this week against the Chargers:

If the Eagles want to keep pace in a tight race for the top playoff seed in the NFC down the stretch, figuring out what ails them on offense is imperative. That has to start with being more effective on the ground, and while it's unlikely at this point that Barkley will be able to recapture the level of play that made his 2024 season so special, he and the Eagles have to improve things far beyond what we've seen so far this season.

If that doesn't happen, it won't be shocking if the Eagles experience another early and disappointing playoff exit instead of defending their title as world champs with another Super Bowl run.