Saquon

Barkley

The Eagles’ seven rushing touchdowns were tied for the most in NFL playoff history. You have to throw it back to the 1940 Chicago Bears to find the last time it happened. Their 55 points are also the most ever in the NFC Championship Game. Barkley, of course, continues to go bonkers, setting the tone today with a 60-yard touchdown dash to put the Eagles up 7-3 in the first quarter. Despite some hectic moments in the second and third frames, the Birds would never again trail before going on to a 32-point victory. Having rushed for at least 118 yards in all three of the Eagles’ playoff games, Barkley will be the Philly X-factor for Super Bowl LIX.

It was “business as usual” for Barkley, who was leaned on heavily in a game that featured snow conditions for most of the afternoon. Barkley broke off one of two signature long touchdown runs in the first quarter when he ran nearly untouched for a 62-yard score to give the Eagles a 13-7 lead. Barkley seemingly put the game on ice — no pun intended — late in the fourth quarter when his second long run went for a 78-yard score to put the Eagles up 28-15 with less than five minutes to play. The Rams would rally late, but Philly’s defense held firm to prevent the near comeback attempt. Barkley and the Eagles now prepare to play host to the Commanders in the NFC Championship game next Sunday. In two games against the Commanders, Barkley has totaled 348 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns on 57 touches.

He added two catches for four yards. The Packers were able to key in on Barkley as the Philadelphia pass offense struggled through the middle of the game, but he closed out the game with a 17-yard run that could have gone longer had Barkley not slid to a stop to wrap things up. Barkley will undoubtedly play a large role — as per usual — against Philadelphia’s Divisional Round opponent. It will be up to Jalen Hurts to make sure Barkley’s running lanes are cleared for the explosive game we didn’t get here.

Barkley’s season officially ends with a rush line of 345-2005-13. The decision to rest the star back ahead of the playoffs was expected after head coach Nick Sirianni said earlier in the week that the team planned to rest several starters in the meaningless Week 18 contests. Fantasy managers in the DFS streets can look to Kenneth Gainwell and Will Shipley as cheap streaming options against the Giants defense.

Barkley’s status should be ready as a formality. The team has already indicated that the star running back will not play this week, nor will any of the Eagles’ core players. Backup Kenneth Gainwell should get the start although rookie Will Shipley (concussion), who is currently listed as questionable, could get involved.

Barkley’s regular season will end with 2,005 rushing yards and 13 rush touchdowns, as he’ll fall 101 yards shy of setting the single-season rushing yards record set by Eric Dickerson in 1984. It’s a tough pill for Barkley and fans to swallow, but the Eagles secured the NFC East title in last week’s win over the Cowboys while also cementing their spot in the playoff race. Kenneth Gainwell could make for an interesting Week 18 streamer for fantasy managers still playing who are looking for help at running back, while rookie Will Shipley could also see some run if he’s able to clear concussion protocol.

Barkley fell victim to a Kenny Pickett tush push touchdown, but the Eagles’ RB1 churned out a strong performance against an overmatched Cowboys defense. Barkley’s longest run of the day came on a 23-yard in the third quarter on a drive that ended with an AJ Brown touchdown, but he will now enter Week 18 just 101 yards shy of the single-season rushing record. With the NFC East now secured, we’ll see just how willing the Eagles are to let Barkley pursue the record in next week’s game against the Giants.

Barkley had a patented long (68 yard) touchdown sprint in the first quarter, eclipsing the century mark on the ground with two minutes to go in the first frame. No one, apparently, is as fast as the 28-year-old Barkley. It was Barkley’s fifth game of the 2024 season with multiple rushing scores. He was mostly bottled up in the second half with Jalen Hurts (concussion) sidelined and the Washington defense focusing on stopping the Philly rushing attack and forcing Kenny Pickett to make crucial late-game throws. Barkley will end the season with 296 rushing yards and four touchdowns against the Commanders alone. He has a date with the exploitable Dallas defense in Week 17.

Barkley reportedly refused to answer questions about his temporary departure from his team’s Week 15 game and the Eagles have not yet released any details on the matter. Barkley reportedly took a helmet to the thigh from Minkah Fitzpatrick and landed hard on his shoulder before departing. While the “stretching” and “working on” observations could indicate he suffered a thigh contusion, we simply do not have any concrete answers at this time. Wednesday’s injury report should provide clarity. Stay tuned.

Barkley missed a significant chunk of the first half with an undisclosed injury but returned in the second half and was able to close out the game. His record-setting pace to set the league’s single-season rushing yards mark was slowed, as he’s now on pace for 2,049 yards on the season. We would expect Barkley to be good to go for Week 16 against the Commanders, who he torched for 26-146-2 last month. He’ll be a solid RB1 in what will hopefully be a bounce-back game.