The Philadelphia Eagles already possessed a talented offense prior to the 2024 offseason. They've been a top 10 offense for the past two seasons, ranking third in yards per game in 2022 and eighth in 2023. The combination of A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jalen Hurts and whatever running back they've had in the backfield created a puzzle that few defenses could consistently contain.
Then they added Saquon Barkley into the mix in free agency. It might have taken some time for the unit to get off the ground, but they've been the second-best offense in football over the last three weeks, and Barkley has found his stride with four games of 100-plus yards in the last month. He's on pace for 1,872 yards, which would shatter the career-high he set in 2022. He's been difficult for teams to bring down, even when he's not looking, as he showcased with his backwards hurdle against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
That's the type of players the Washington Commanders must account for during their Thursday Night Football game against the Eagles.
"He's an incredible player," coach Dan Quinn said of Barkley.
The 2024 iteration of the Commanders might feature a new conglomeration of players under a new coaching regime, but no one on the roster is unfamiliar with the dimension that Barkley brings to a game. The longtime veterans on the team are certainly familiar with how he can affect an outcome, as two of hist most productive games came against Washington. He rushed for 189 yards in Week 16 of the 2019 season and 170 yards in Week 14 of the 2018 season. The New York Giants scored 40 points and won both games.
Now with the Eagles, Barkley has already surpassed his rushing total from 2023 (962 yards) and done so on 76 fewer carries. He has five 100-yard games this season and three games where he surpassed the 140-yard mark. The Eagles are 5-0 in those games with an average of 28.4 points per contest.
Quinn is also familiar with Barkley during his time as the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator, although his experiences with the Pro Bowl running back are vastly different from those of Washington. In the four games that Quinn had to prepare for Barkley with the Cowboys, Barkley was held to 50 rushing yards or less in three of them with the only exception being in Week 3 of the 2022 season, when he rushed for 81 yards on 14 carries. The Giants lost all four games.
Still, Quinn considers Barkley to be a dynamic threat to the Commanders' defense. He knows Barkley has a talent for using his speed to beat a defender's leverage and an uncommon knack for being able to start and stop while maintaining his explosive nature. He's also a problem as a receiver, as he's caught 80% of his 26 targets for 158 yards and two touchdowns.
"The tackling, the angles, you want to make sure that point is really hammered home over and over," Quinn said.
For all the improvements Washington's defense has made since Week 1, its performance on the ground could still use some work. The unit is 25th in run stop win rate and tied for the third most rushing averaged allowed per game. Nine of their 10 opponents rushed for more than 100 yards, and four rushed for more than 150.
Quinn highlighted how impressive Barkley's jump cuts are, which has helped him force 30 tackles through nine games. That can create challenges for the Commanders defensive front -- part of a unit that is performing around the middle of the league in missed tackles -- but getting to Barkley isn't always enough. He also has 340 yards after contact, which ranks eighth in the league.
"You might be in the right gap where you think you're supposed to be, and he's got such quickness to accelerate out of that cut," Quinn said. "You don't want a lot of one-man tackles on a ball player of his ability where he can change and spin."
Similar to the Commanders' matchup against Derrick Henry and the Baltimore Ravens and, to a lesser extent, Najee Harris and the Pittsburgh Steelers, it will be difficult to consistently provide the resources necessary to stop Barkley. Between Brown and Smith, the Eagles have a plethora of weapons that can still hurt Washington even if they hold Barkley to a pedestrian day.
In order for the Commanders to come out of Philadelphia back in first place in the NFC East, Quinn knows they'll need to be ready for anything, both from Barkley and the Eagles entire offense.
"One of the things that jumps out to me from Philadelphia, you gotta be able to play two downs, meaning [Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen] Hurts can extend outta the play on a passing play to extend it as a passer and running and you have to be ready to play four down football," Quinn said. "And that's been a philosophy of Philadelphia for a number of years."
