PHILADELPHIA — Saquon Barkley stole the show in his Philadelphia Eagles debut.
He gave the offense the credible, every-down back the franchise craved. He may have given his old team, the New York Giants, a few sleepless nights (as part of the NFC East Division, they face the Eagles twice in the regular season). Barkley’s three-touchdown performance sealed a few fantasy football victories, too.
So will he repeat the feat Monday night when the Atlanta Falcons come to town?
Even if the total offensive numbers come again — 109 rushing yards with touchdowns of 11 and 2 yards, plus an 18-yard catch for another score — Barkley might have to rack them up on fewer plays. The $26 million running back shouldn’t necessarily expect 26 total touches (24 carries, two receptions) like he had in his stellar opener in the Eagles’ win over the Green Bay Packers last Friday in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Coach Nick Sirianni wants to keep Barkley fresh for the stretch run, which could mean less impact now in exchange for a heavier load in December and beyond.
Unless, of course, the Eagles really need him to pull out a win.
“You do everything you can do to win each football game, and so once the game is in the flow, you think about how you’re going to win that game,” Sirianni said.
The city’s sports fans surely remember the dreaded “load management” phrase popularized by their NBA franchise, the Philadelphia 76ers, to describe its attempt at limiting oft-injured center Joel Embiid’s minutes. The Eagles might not necessarily go that far during a game — their backup options are Kenneth Gainwell and Will Shipley — but Sirianni said there are ways during the week the Eagles can limit how they use Barkley.
“With Saquon having that many touches, we’ll have a plan for that this week in practice where we can take some of the load off him there,” Sirianni said.
After six straight losing seasons, the Falcons opened at home last Sunday with a disappointing result as the Pittsburgh Steelers won 18-10. One small bright spot was that their defense kept the Steelers out of the end zone, usually a formula for victory.
Trying to do it again facing Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and his group of elite receivers is tough enough. Trying to keep Hurts and Barkley out of the end zone just might be an impossible task.
The Eagles are eager to see what Barkley does in the second game.
“He’s done an excellent job, and we’ll be able to diversify it as we go,” Philadelphia offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said. “Week in and week out, we can adjust the game plans, and we’ll play different styles depending on how the opponent wants to play us. He’ll provide us with that opportunity.”
And yes, the tush push is still alive in Philly.
Alive and well? Not so much, at least not after the play was unsuccessful on at least two attempts against the Packers and there was some miscommunication between Hurts and center Cam Jurgens on other plays.
The play goes like this: Hurts lines up under center with two or three players behind him. He takes the snap, the offensive line surges forward, and Hurts gets a big push from behind.
The Eagles converted on the play about 93% of the time each of the past two seasons. Jason Kelce, the burly center who anchored the play, retired. Jurgens took over at center, and the play underwent early growing pains, along with the whole offensive line.
“I was pleased with the way we were getting some push on some of them,” Sirianni said. “We have some things to clean up.”
On the other side of the ball, the Eagles are pleased that 36-year-old defensive end Brandon Graham seems to still have a lot left in the tank.
Graham’s first snap in the opener made him the first Eagle to ever start a 15th season. He was tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik, whose 14-year run was 1949-62. Graham also has the record for the most regular-season games played (196) in franchise history.
Graham played 32 snaps against the Packers, which was one more than second-year edge rusher Nolan Smith and two more than defensive end Bryce Huff, who signed a three-year, $51 million free-agent deal in the offseason. Graham could expect a similar workload against the Falcons.
“Brandon is still a good player, and I’ve told him several times he’s not on any ceremonial last-year retirement parade,” Philadelphia defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “He’s going to play. He’s still playing good.”
The Falcons have their own 36-year-old starter in quarterback Kirk Cousins, but this is his first NFL season in Atlanta after six seasons in Washington and six more in Minnesota.
Playing in a game for the first time in more than 10 months, he struggled mightily in his Falcons debut, which is hardly what was expected from a quarterback who received a four-year, $180 million contract in free agency that includes $100 million guaranteed.
First-year Atlanta coach Raheem Morris made it clear that the offense was the biggest problem against the Steelers. Cousins looked shaky in the pocket, threw two interceptions and finished with just 155 yards on 16-of-26 passing.
Most notably, he failed to take advantage of two of his biggest playmakers. Tight end Kyle Pitts did catch a 12-yard touchdown pass but finished with just three receptions for 26 yards. Even worse, top outside threat Drake London was targeted only three times, making two catches for 15 yards.
“We played what I thought was winning football in two phases of the game, and we didn’t play winning football in our offensive phase of the game. That’s just the truth of the matter,” said Morris, the former Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator.
“It wasn’t good enough. We threw two interceptions. We’ve got to make better decisions in the passing game all around.”
One Atlanta player who didn’t look rusty at all was Grady Jarrett. Coming back from a season-ending knee injury, the longtime stalwart of Atlanta’s defensive front picked right up where he left off.
Jarrett had 1 1/2 sacks and three quarterback hits, becoming the franchise leader in the latter category with 117 for his career to surpass John Abraham’s 115.
“I know I’m back,” Jarrett said. “I put a lot of work in, zero doubt in my mind, I’m ready to go. I’m just excited to have a great year and contribute to this team the best I can.”