Eagles’ Saquon Barkley deals ‘with a little something’ in Steelers slugfest and will ‘get ready for next week’
Barkley rushed for 65 yards against the Steelers while spending stretches on the sideline as he works through an issue that led him to the medical tent.
In the aftermath of a bruising game, stadium traffic was the only thing between Saquon Barkley and a much-needed cold tub.
The star running back conceded he was “dealing with a little something” during the Eagles’ 27-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, which helps explain why he missed an extended stretch during the second quarter and walked off gingerly in the final minutes of the game. Barkley finished with 19 carries for 65 yards while Kenneth Gainwell had seven rushing attempts and three catches in Barkley’s stead.
“I was dealing with a little something,” Barkley said. “I’m not going to go too much into that. But the guys stepped up big, Kenny made some big plays for us and at the end of the day I was able to tough it out and try to go out there and make plays. I didn’t have the splash plays I usually have, but I tried to go out there and grind it out for my team.”
“I feel good,” Barkley added. “I’ll probably go home, get my little cold tub [in], probably get my little routine. The kids should be asleep by now. I’ll probably watch the Sunday night game, go to sleep, wake up and get back to my routine.”
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Sunday’s win was a grind for Barkley and the rest of the offense against a Steelers team that also prides itself on the type of physicality the Eagles have become known for this season. The team managed 131 rushing yards, 65 of which came from Barkley. It’s both the team’s lowest rushing total and Barkley’s lowest since Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns and the second-lowest he has managed all season.
In the lead-up to the game, Barkley mentioned the only previous time in his career he played against Mike Tomlin’s Steelers back in 2020, the coach foreshadowed the paltry 15 total yards he’d manage by telling Barkley he was going to have “a long night.”
His numbers were better on Sunday, but the second matchup against a Tomlin-led team had a familiarly physical defensive front to contend with.
“It’s as advertised every single time,” Barkley said. “They do a really good job of punching at the ball, they do a really good job of being physical and tackling, they tackle well. They’re a good team, they’re a really good team.”
Late in the first quarter, Barkley took an awkward fall near the goal line after getting tripped up by Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and gestured to be subbed off. He stayed in the game for one more play because the Eagles were in hurry-up to keep the Steelers from changing personnel, but went to the medical tent after the series.
The 27-year-old returned to the field for a couple of plays on the Eagles’ following series but spent the final 11 minutes or so on the sideline with the offensive subs while Gainwell took the majority of the snaps, doing warmup exercises at times with his helmet on.
Barkley said Fitzpatrick’s goal-line tackle wasn’t what led to his injury and reiterated he doesn’t consider it a serious thing.
“It wasn’t from the hit,” Barkley said. “Nothing crazy, just a little minor — we’ll get ready for next week.”
Barkley returned in the third quarter and played a part in a dominant 22-play final drive that traversed 88 yards and took the final 10 minutes, 29 seconds off the clock in the fourth quarter. After reeling off a 7-yard run with the Eagles facing third-and-2 in their own territory, Barkley was tackled for losses twice and lasted only a few more plays before hobbling off to allow Gainwell to finish out the game.
After nine weeks when Barkley served primarily as the steadying force for the Eagles offense, sometimes at the expense of the passing game, the script was flipped against Pittsburgh. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts finished 25-for-32 for 290 yards and two touchdowns, taking advantage of the Steelers loading the box with just one deep safety to combat the Eagles’ running game.
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A byproduct of the more balanced approach against the Steelers is Barkley falling off the pace for the NFL’s single-season rushing record, though. Now 417 yards away from the 2,105-yard mark set by Eric Dickerson in 1984, Barkley will need to average 139 rushing yards in the Eagles’ final three games to break the record. After the game, though, Barkley was more enthused with the offense silencing questions about its approach rather than his final numbers.
“We won a game where we didn’t run for 200, 300 yards,” Barkley said. “So everyone, the media in Philly can take a deep breath and we can get on and get ready for Washington.”
Given the choice, the Eagles would likely prefer Barkley get some rest before the postseason — or perhaps even during the postseason with the No. 1 seed in the NFC and the bye that comes with it still in play. The Detroit Lions, who currently hold the tiebreaker over them, lost to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, meaning the Eagles will need them to lose one of their final three games while also winning out to overtake them in the standings.
When asked about the Lions opening the door that much wider for the Eagles in the seeding race, Barkley said it will start by beating the Washington Commanders next Sunday.
“It doesn’t matter if we don’t do what we got to do,” Barkley said. “We’ve got three games left, three divisional opponents left, a really good divisional opponent coming up who is playing well. We’ll watch film and the focus goes to Washington, that’s really it.”