The Eagles offensive woes finally came back to bite them. Throughout the season, the Eagles have stalled offensively for a significant portion of every game. On Sunday, it was for the final 40 minutes of their matchup against the Cowboys.
Philadelphia’s offense initially appeared to actually subside their issues at the start of the game by scoring three touchdowns over the first 20 minutes as they got off to a 21-0 lead. Jalen Hurts connected early with receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith for big plays, getting two of their playmakers involved to take advantage of the Cowboys’ defense.
However, those were all the points the Eagles could muster. The Eagles failed to score a single point the rest of the way while two fumbles helped the Cowboys come back to win the game 24-21. Once again, the running game with Saquon Barkley was nonexistent.
“I’m not playing well. Just gotta play better. That’s really it,” Barkley told reporters after the game.
Barkley carried the ball 10 times for a season-low 22 yards and a fumble in the loss, an average of 2.2 yards per carry. There were a number of reasons the Cowboys came back to win, but it’s certainly hard to close out games when the running game isn’t effective. Per Nate Tice of Yahoo! Sports, the Cowboys defense held the Eagles to a rushing success rate of just 18.8%, their lowest single-game mark since Week 2 of the 2015 season.
“Too many mistakes, especially that fumble. I lost us points there. Gotta be better with my ball security. Stuff like that kept popping up. I couldn’t get the run game going,” Barkley also said.
So far this season, Barkley has rushed for just 662 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 3.8 yards per carry. He ranks fourth in the NFL in carries, but only 14th in yards gained on the ground. A year after rushing for over 2,000 yards, Barkley has rushed for 100 yards in a game just once this season. It’s played a big part in the Eagles’ offensive struggles, and hasn’t shown many signs toward improvement.
“More disappointed in myself,” Barkley said. “Not frustrated with anybody else. I’m a big believer that the run game starts with me, ends with me. I’m in a little funk right now, I’ve had funks like this before. Just gotta break it. Only way I know how is by flushing this, working my butt off and get ready for my next opportunity.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Saquon Barkley Had Sad Message After Eagles Blow 21-Point Lead, Lose to Cowboys.
