PHILADELPHIA – Saquon Barkley is proving to be a force to be reckoned with in the second half of games. As the clock ticks down, Barkley gets stronger, and with him, so does the entire Philadelphia Eagles offense.
In the first half of their game against the Washington Commanders, Barkley struggled to find his rhythm. He had 15 carries for 56 yards (3.9 yards per carry), and the Eagles offense could only manage a single field goal across six possessions, totaling 174 yards. However, as the second half unfolded, Barkley began to assert his dominance.
By the end of the game, Barkley had finished with 11 carries for 90 yards and two touchdowns. Remarkably, 76 of those rushing yards and both touchdowns came in the fourth quarter. The Eagles scored on all four of their second-half possessions, including three consecutive touchdowns, totaling 230 yards of offense.
It’s clear that the Eagles’ offense revolves around Barkley. Once he finds his rhythm, the whole team follows suit.
“That’s why we train the way we do, whether it’s on my own or with the guys during OTAs,” Barkley said about his second-half success. “This offseason, we kind of adopted a college mindset, running with each other. When you have an offensive line like ours, it makes it easier because they’re doing so much of the heavy lifting. I just trust them, trust the scheme, and make the right reads.”
Barkley’s second-half performances this season have been nothing short of spectacular. In the second halves of games (including overtime), he leads the NFL with 738 rushing yards and an impressive 7.2 yards per carry. His 320 rushing yards in the fourth quarter (and overtime) are second only to Derrick Henry, and his 7.1 yards per carry in that period top the league.
“He’s an exceptional talent,” said Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson. “Looking back at the first half, maybe we didn’t play up to our potential, and we didn’t have the momentum. But in the second half, we found our rhythm.”
While some adjustments by the Eagles’ offensive line may have helped, there’s no denying that Barkley and the offense seem to get stronger as the game goes on. The Eagles are averaging 6.6 yards per play and 110.7 rushing yards in the second half this season, with a league-leading 15.9 points per game after halftime.
Head coach Nick Sirianni acknowledged the importance of Barkley’s ability to grind through tough moments. “It was huge that we were able to get the run game going, even when it was tough early on,” Sirianni said. “Sometimes, the run game is ugly, it’s grimy. But you keep grinding, and that really helped us close out the game.”
