Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is having a fantastic season. In 10 games this season, Barkley has rushed for 1137 yards and eight rushing touchdowns. If Barkley played for any other team, he would probably have more rushing touchdowns, but he plays for the Eagles, and when they get to the goal line, Philadelphia uses the “Tush Push,” which has turned into one of the most challenging plays to stop in the NFL.
In some instances, Barkley has gotten the Eagles close, and quarterback Jalen Hurts, who has 11 rushing touchdowns, brings it home.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was asked if he had thought about allowing Barkley to finish off drives when the team gets close to the goal line.
“I think, yes, you always think about that,” Sirianni said on Monday. “I think one thing we think about a lot in the red zone – without giving out too much information because I want to answer your question and be respectful of your question – a quarterback sneak; it’s tough to lose yardage there.
“So when you come out, the worst thing you can do in red zone football is move backwards. That’s one the worst things that can happen there and put you behind the sticks. You always want to stay ahead of the sticks because things get harder and tighter down there as you move down in there.
“So we’ve had a lot of success with the quarterback sneak. Jalen has scored a lot of touchdowns. So there are times where, yeah – again, I want to be careful how I’m answering this, but I again want to answer your question.
“That’s probably the best way I can say that. Saquon has done a great job. How many touchdowns does he have this year? I actually don’t know… He’s getting us down there, yes. He’s got eight touchdowns, and [we’re] excited for him on that. He’s playing at a high, high level. But I think Saquon is a great teammate.”
Barkley has shown himself to be a good teammate, and he’s made it clear and demonstrated on numerous occasions that he wants to win. Whether it’s Hurts or Barkley, the goal is to get six points so the team can win, and right now, they’re winning.
