Eagles' Superstar Is Fine With Supporting Role

Sunday's win over Pittsburgh wasn't a Saquon Barkley day and the Eagles' superstar is fine with that.

Dec 15, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs with the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA - Sunday’s emphatic 27-13 win over Pittsburgh is exactly what Howie Roseman envisioned when he put together the 2024 Eagles.

On paper, the Philadelphia GM assembled a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators by adding superstar running back Saquon Barkley to the game’s best offensive line and a passing attack headlined by Jalen Hurts getting the football to star receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

What happened was success to the tune of a 12-2 start with 10 consecutive wins but Barkley had shouldered the load to the point that the passing part of things looked anemic in recent wins at Baltimore and over Carolina.

Things shifted against the tough-minded Steelers as Hurts returned to form by connecting on his first eight passes and finishing 25 of 32 for 290 yards with a touchdown to Brown and Smith.

Barkley, a leading MVP candidate, was held to 65 yards on 19 carries, his second-lowest total of the season.

Take out a 22-yard gash and Barkley had only 43 yards on his other 18 totes, a disappointing 2.4 yards per carry, and the RB1 also banged up his right knee.

First things first, after sitting out a bit in the second quarter to get the knee loose, Barkley was able to return and handle his regular workload.

“Nothing crazy. A little minor [setback],” Barkley said of his mishap. “Just get ready for next week.”

What was new was going away from Barkley and using the passing game to best Pittsburgh.

“Everyone knows what this team is capable of doing. Finally we showed it,” said Barkley. “I said it earlier in the week if a team figures out how to slow down the run, we’re capable of passing. If they’re capable of stopping the pass, we’re capable of running with the team that we have. 

“Big shoutout to Jalen, A.J., and Smitty. They did what we all know what we all know they are capable of doing.”

The next goal is trying to lock down the NFC East at Washington next week and the No. 1 seed in the NFC is now in play after Buffalo upset Detroit on Sunday.

“Wwe kept the main thing the main thing. We kept focus and believing in each other,” Barkley said. “We have to continue to do that. It’s still a long season and to accomplish what we want to accomplish, we got a big divisional opponent coming up.”

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