Eagles need more from Saquon Barkley if they want to be Super Bowl contenders

Despite a 4-0 start to their 2025-26 season, the Philadelphia Eagles (5-2) never looked like themselves, and concerns about their play were creeping in.

Those concerns eventually showed up in the final results, as the birds dropped a Week 5 home game against the Denver Broncos and followed that up with an embarrassing performance on prime time in a Thursday night loss to the New York Giants.

While it felt like the sky was falling in Philadelphia, the 10 days off in advance of Week 7 appear to be exactly what the defending Super Bowl champions needed to get back on track, that is, for the passing game at least. 

It all came together for Jalen Hurts and the wide receivers against the Minnesota Vikings, as the Eagles flexed their muscles in a 28-22 win. However, what remained non-existent was the running game, in particular, Saquon Barkley, and that’s now become a season-long trend that is a troubling sight for Philly. 

Eagles RB Saquon Barkley is struggling in first half of the season

It’s impossible to imagine that a guy who rushed for 2,000 yards the prior year would fall onto the back burner the next season, but that’s how it had felt with Barkley through the first six weeks of 2025-26.

The superstar running back averaged just 19 touches and 54.2 rushing yards per game before Sunday’s win in Minnesota, yet that wasn’t even close to the talk of the town in Philadelphia. A.J. Brown’s lack of involvement in the offense, Jalen Hurts’ inconsistent play, the offensive line’s struggles, and even the tush push were the focus.

After the Week 7 outburst for Hurts, Brown and DeVonta Smith, perhaps Barkley’s poor play will start to receive some more attention, and it’s about time it should.

A solid first drive was centered around Barkley, which generated hope for a breakout performance. Still, from that point onward, the 28-year-old was inefficient and ineffective, as he’s been the entire season, quite frankly. Through seven weeks, he now sits at a measly 3.27 yards per carry, on pace for not even 900 rushing yards for the campaign.

While those numbers are shocking, what might be most concerning is the lack of explosiveness, as his longest run of the year is 18 yards, a stark contrast from the 17 times he tallied 20+ yard runs in 2024-25.