Running back Saquon Barkley has run for eight touchdowns in his first 10 games as an Eagle, but that number could be significantly higher.
The Eagles have employed their trusty tush push to get quarterback Jalen Hurts eight touchdown runs after Barkley or others have moved the ball to the lip of the end zone this season. Barkley has touchdown runs of two and three yards and head coach Nick Sirianni was asked this week if he ever feels compelled to give Barkley a chance to finish off the drives.
Sirianni said Barkley is a “great teammate” and noted that losing yards is difficult when they run sneaks — Barkley lost yards on his sole carry from the 1-yard-line — so close to the goal line.
“Yes, you always think about that,” Sirianni said, via a transcript from the team. “I think one thing we think about a lot in the red zone – without giving out too much information because I want to answer your question and be respectful of your question – a quarterback sneak, it’s tough to lose yardage there. So when you come out, the worst thing you can do in red zone football is move backwards. That’s one the worst things that can happen there and put you behind the sticks. You always want to stay ahead of the sticks because things get harder and tighter down there as you move down in there. So we’ve had a lot of success with the quarterback sneak. Jalen has scored a lot of touchdowns.”
There was some question about whether the Eagles would remain effective running sneaks without center Jason Kelce. The answer has been a resounding yes and it’s not surprising that the Eagles aren’t looking for ways to fix things that aren’t broken.
