Eagles Flying With Superman, Especially In The Second Half Of Games

Here is an attempt to explain the great disparity in production between halves for the Philadelphia Eagles star running back.

Nov 24, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) celebrates with running back Saquon Barkley (26) after the Eagles defeat the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Alex Gallardo-Imagn Images / Alex Gallardo-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA – When you’re running back wears a cape, you fly with him, and that’s what the Eagles are doing with Saquon Barkley.

"For my first few years in high school that's all we did is run the ball,” said receiver DeVonta Smith. “Gotta make the most of your opportunities. Ultimately you're winning and like I always say you got Superman in the backfield you can't complain.”

Nobody who gets paid to catch passes for a living is complaining.

“Whenever I touch the ball, I gotta make it happen,” said A.J. Brown. “What (Saquon) does is very special.”

Of all the eye-popping numbers Barkley is putting up this season, one that jumps out is the disparity between his yards in the first half and his yards in the second half. The difference is so vast, one of my missions this week was to search for a reason.

First, the numbers. Barkley leads the NFL with 1,392 yards rushing as the Eagles prepare to face the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Stadium on Sunday. He has 472 yards in the first half, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. In the second half, he has 920 yards (7.9 ypc). Entering Week 13, those 920 yards would still be the fourth-highest in the league.

The Eagles’ commitment to the run is one reason. Another is their offensive line, which loves to hit and keep on hitting and that wears a defense down.

Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is mostly responsible for sticking with the running game for four quarters. What does he think is the reason for the difference in halves?

“That's a great question,” he said. “I don't know if I studied it analytically to evaluate why. But I do think there is an element of – we pride ourselves on being a really physical run game, and those things wear on you as the game goes on when you get the opportunities we get.

“And the way the games have played out, you can keep grinding it out as the second half progresses, and those big plays eventually pop.”

Philadelphia Eagles RT Lane Johnson / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

Lane Johnson gave his thoughts.

"There's a lot of stuff you can game plan through throughout the week, and then, you know, you get to the game and they may show up in a different defense,” the right tackle said. “You have to make those adjustments after each series and like halftime, you know, some plays that maybe don't run the first half, run the second half. So, I think I credit it to that.”

To surmise: Johnson believes it has to do with halftime adjustments.

So does the player who plays right next to him, Mekhi Becton.

“The run game isn’t always gonna hit off the first run,” said the right guard. “It’s one of those things where we gotta keep going and going and wait for it to just hit. I feel like we’ve done that every game this year. We’ve came in the locker room, made our adjustments, and we dodged what we gonna do in the second half. That’s the best I can explain it. It’s one of those things where we just gotta keep chugging along. It’s not one of those things where we gotta be perfect off the bat.”

To surmise: Becton believes in halftime adjustments, too, but also the willingness to keep pounding the ball.

Of course, getting a lead helps, and now comes the biggest challenge. The Ravens could be Kryptonite for Superman because they have the league’s top-ranked run defense.

More NFL: Eagles May Find Air More Hospitable Than Ground Vs. Ravens