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Saquon Barkley’s Touchdown in Week 3 Win Nearly Made an Eagles OL Cry Tears of Joy
The Philadelphia Eagles are in their Saquon Barkley era.
The Birds pulled out a nervy 15-12 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday thanks to the resurgence of the former New York Giants running back, who capped off yet another dominant outing with 17 carries for 147 yards and two touchdowns while averaging a robust 8.6 yards per rush.
Despite previously playing for a division rival, Barkley has garnered widespread positive reactions from Eagles fans since his arrival in Philly, as well as from the players themselves. Eagles backup offensive lineman Fred Johnson stepped in for an injured Lane Johnson during the team’s narrow comeback win over the Saints, and Johnson gave a powerful quote after the victory on what Barkley’s touchdown meant to him.
“I was like, after that touchdown to Saquon, I almost cried on the sideline,” Johnson said. “I ain’t going to lie, I got emotional. I got really emotional because I thought I’d never be back in action. Everybody knows some of my story. It’s just been a long time coming. And when I seen him running to score, I got hype, real hype. I was just grateful for the moment and ready to go back out and do it again.”
"I almost cried on the sideline, I ain't gonna lie."
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) September 23, 2024
Fred Johnson stepped in for an injured Lane Johnson and held it down on the right side for the Eagles during their comeback win against the Saints. pic.twitter.com/Cp6H9mLqkP
Johnson joined the Eagles’ practice squad in November 2022 following short stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals. The last time Johnson started an NFL game was three years ago during the 2021 season, but the 27-year-old journeyman saw his number get called on Sunday after Lane Johnson suffered a concussion in the first half.
Johnson ended up playing 75% of offensive snaps in Week 3’s win and made clear how thrilled he was to see Barkley punch in touchdown after touchdown this season.
Philadelphia (2-1) will look to continue their success on the ground in a rematch of last year’s wild-card round playoff game against Tampa Bay next week.
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Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.