The Philadelphia Eagles are reaching new heights this season. With a new-look ship being steered by Saquon Barkley, the team burst out of their bye week and never looked back, winning every game since and reclaiming sole possession of the NFC East. While there are plenty of positives to be applauded throughout this run, there is one that is yet to really be brought up – Nick Sirianni’s awareness to stick to what works and avoid tearing up the gameplay during moments of adversity.
The evolution of the Eagles’ rushing offense
The Eagles have felt like a run-first team for some time now, but 2023 was the third successive year in which their total rushing attempts dropped. that number was 550 in 2021, 544 in 2022, and 510 in 2023. Admittedly, the shapes of those backfields were very different, but it’s not like the Birds lacked firepower. The team has been able to consistently build a top-10 rushing offense under Sirianni’s guidance, but that hasn’t been without its flaws.
I can’t count how many times fans would be screaming at their Televisions, begging the Head Coach to ‘run the ball’. It would never really take long for Sirianni to move away from the running rock regardless of how successful it might’ve been, which would of course put pressure on a passing unit that (in 2023) was struggling to make things happen consistently.
Fast forward a season and sprinkle in the arrival of one of the most gifted running backs the NFL has ever seen, and oh, how things have changed.
As things stand, the Eagles have tallied 442 rushing attempts this season. Saquon Barkley has accounted for 246 of those, which is 5 more than D’Andre Swift‘s 2023 total, and only 13 away from Miles Sanders‘ 259 set in 2022.
Barkley is averaging a career-high in both carries per game and yards per attempt this season, but that doesn’t tell the whole story, because the former Giants’ star has also never been an offense with so much star-power.
With A.J Brown and DeVonta Smith both playing on the perimeter for the Eagles, it takes a real team focus and elite level of cohesion in order to remove any kind of greed and desire for personal achievement from the equation. Philadelphia is breaking the norms of a rushing offense right now, and for the two electric wideouts and a superstar QB to be comfortable with that, it all starts at the top.
It also highlights a stark contrast for Nick Sirianni, who, as we aforementioned, had a tendency to throw the Baby out with the Bath Water and go away from what was working because it wasn’t working ‘enough’.
The game against Baltimore was a prime example. Against the 2nd-ranked rush defense in the NFL, Barkley had 44 yards to his name after three quarters. By the time the game ended, he had 107. The Eagles trusted in his ability to make magic happen and focused on moving the chains sensibly rather than being unnecessarily greedy or bringing in any concerns of turning the ball over.
In fact, per Sky Sports during the UK broadcast, the Eagles’ running back is averaging 84 yards in the second half of games this season…which is more than anyone not named Derrick Henry or Joe Mixon are totaling IN AN ENTIRE GAME.
The commitment to rushing the ball is something we haven’t seen in a long time in the City of Brotherly Love, but there’s no questioning that without it, this team would not be at the scintillating 10-win mark today. Sirianni, Moore, and the entire offense all deserve credit for their selflessness and patience when establishing the run, and harnessing creativity to ensure Barkley’s impact only grows over time as opposed to weakens.
Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
