Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles are soaring high as they enter the final stanza of the 2024 NFL season. With a 9-2 record and 7 wins on the bounce, the Birds are 2 wins clear atop the NFC East, and a lot of that success can be attributed to one of the most remarkable individual seasons that fans have ever seen.
Saquon Barkley’s road to Philadelphia
Something about seeing Barkley in midnight green still doesn’t feel quite real. After obliterating collegiate records at Penn State, he would end up being drafted by the New York Giants, where he was by far the best player on a pretty poor team. Playing behind a porus offensive front, Barkley often flashed his brilliance, but it was never enough to negate the persistent mistakes around him, from the front office, to the coaches, and his teammates.
Injuries would also play a role in hampering Barkley’s career, and after six years with the G-Men, the front office made a bizarre decision. They opted to let Saquon go in favor of retaining Daniel Jones, who was cut from the franchise just months later. While Jim Mora expressed concerns about Barkley landing in Philadelphia, it did feel unlikely…but not impossible.
The Eagles hadn’t spent big on a running back since DeMarco Murray’s gargantuan contract in 2015. Scarred from that disaster, the team spent the next 8 years rolling out committee efforts. While they had plenty of success behind one of the most dominant offensive fronts in football, fans longed for the days of a true bell-cow back that they hadn’t seen since LeSean McCoy.
That all changed this offseason. Howie Roseman went all-in on bringing home a running back whose value around the league was seemingly lost in the languishing waters that surrounded New York, and the rest, as they say, was history.
Saquon Barkley’s scintillating success
After just 11 weeks, Saquon Barkley has set a career-high in rushing yards with 1,392 while averaging an astonishing 6.2 yards per carry – also a career-high. He has 257 rushing yards on top of that with a further two touchdowns. Barkley isn’t just the most dominant running back in football, but arguably the league’s Most Valuable Player. Without the services of the 27-year-old, it’s fair to say the Eagles would not have been able to mitigate many of their own self-inflicted wounds.
The brilliance of Barkley is on display every single week. Breaking off incredible runs behind a lethal offensive front, Saquon Barkley has rekindled some of his early form, and you can feel the confidence growing with every touch he gets. This isn’t just a running back who is leading the league in rushing yards, but a man who was always destined for such greatness, held hostage behind poorly-built offensive lines, and sub-par quarterback play. It was easy for the star to lose his sparkle in such a dark sky, but in new pastures, he’s never shined so brightly.
I can’t remember the last time I was ever so excited to watch one individual player take the field. You just never know where that next home run hit is going to come from, and his ability to blend the very best of physicality with agility is alien-like.
Seeing Saquon Barkley thrive in Philadelphia isn’t just exciting as a fan of the team. You’re getting to watch one of the best running back talents to ever step foot in the NFL finally live up to his potential because he’s in an environment that only elevates him rather than suffocates his greatness.
The future looks incredibly bright for the Penn State product, who continues to defy gravity, expectations, and physics on a weekly basis. He’s just one 100-yard game away from breaking Wilbert Montgomery’s franchise record for most 100-yard outings in a single season, and it feels like a given that the record is going to be demolished.
The Eagles haven’t seen a running back this talented wear their colors in a long time, or arguably ever. And to watch Saquon Barkley get to write the next chapter of his story the way he wants after being dealt a hand he never chose, is satisfying on so many levels.
Of all the stories in the NFL this season, this one might be the most emotive to watch unfold. Does it have its fairytale ending? Only time will tell…
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
