Wins are rarely flawless in the NFL. Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles know that well after last season.
Although the Eagles repeated as division champs, making the league’s Wild Card Round in the playoffs, the Eagles–specifically on offense–caught a lot of heat for the way they were winning games.
It seems that the Eagles used to let that bother them. According to the star running back Saquon Barkley, they are taking a different approach this time around.
Saquon Barkley Reveals Eagles’ Honest Mindset After Tight Week 1 Win
“Most importantly, we came out with the win,” Barkley said regarding Sunday’s Week 1 action between the Eagles and the Washington Commanders.
“Last year, I know everyone tried to make something of we’re winning by two points, and we’re not getting on that this year. That’s a good thing. We come out with a win, we’re going to be happy and we’re going to celebrate, and we’re going to flush it and get ready for next week.”
Against the Commanders, the Eagles came out with a 24-22 victory to move to 1-0 on the year. Playing in a new offense after most starters sat for the entire preseason, there was a small chance that side of the football would mirror years in the past right away.
There were bright spots, and plenty of plays to criticize. At the end of the day, Barkley is confident that his team will get it right.
“That’s just the rule of football. It’s not as bad as you think—and it’s never as good as you think when you watch film,” Barkley told reporters.
“There was some stuff that we got away with that can hurt us in the future. We got to be honest with ourselves from that. We’re going to do that because of the type of coaches that we have and the leaders that we have in our locker room on our offense.”
Saquon Barkley’s Performance vs Commanders
Barkley took on 15 carries for the Eagles on Sunday.
The star running back averaged 5.5 yards per carry and totaled 83 yards. While he didn’t reach the end zone on any of his runs, he did bust out a 42-yard run, which put the Eagles in a prime position to score.
Next week, Barkley and the Eagles will be back in action for Week 2 against the Tennessee Titans.