[ad_1]
Saquon Barkley is struggling. He’s not finding running lanes, he’s not creating his own space, and he’s far from the electrifying playmaker who last year made the world stop suddenly with a reverse hurdle that would end up becoming the snapshot of his season, the signature highlight in a year full of awe-inspiring moves and explosive plays that produced a near 2,300 combined-yard season.
Through four games, the NFL’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year is averaging almost half as many rushing yards per game as last season and, even more staggering, he’s averaging about three fewer yards per carry than last season.
Turns out, the culprit isn’t a dormant pass offense that’s failing to keep the boxes light and bodies off the line of scrimmage. You couldn’t have had a more impactful pass game than the Eagles had Sunday in the first half against the Buccaneers in Tampa. Jalen Hurts completed 15 of 16 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns, and Barkley still managed just 18 yards on seven carries.
If you combine Hurts’ sizzling second half in Week 3 against the Rams with his scorching first half against the Bucs, there’s still an incongruence with the pass and run offenses.
| 2H vs. Rams/1H vs. Bucs | 2H vs. Rams/1H vs. Bucs |
| Jalen Hurts: 32-40 for 339 yards, 5 TD | Saquon Barkley: 18-15, 2.8 ypc |
Amazingly, when Hurts and the pass offense have been at their best, Barkley has actually been worse, averaging fewer than three yards per carry. It doesn’t make much sense.
There could be any number of reasons for Barkley’s slow start – opponent game-planning, the right guard change from Mekhi Becton to Tyler Steen, injuries to Lane Johnson, the Week 1 loss of fullback Ben VanSumeren, tight end Grant Calcaterra’s suspect inline blocking. Any of these, or a combination of all, could all be factors.
Also, all four of the Eagles’ opponents so far this season are teams they played last year, and only the Cowboys have a new defensive coordinator/defensive play caller. So it’s a safe bet that each of these opponents spent some time this offseason watching tape from last year’s games and trying to scheme up run defense differently.
Also interesting is that another one of last year’s NFC workhorses, Packers RB Josh Jacobs, is also well off his pace from 2024. Jacobs’ 1,671 offense yards last year ranked fourth behind Barkley, Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbbs. Jacobs also logged 337 touches, fourth-most in the NFC.
But through four games in 2025, Jacobs only has 385 yards from scrimmage, 10th in the NFL, and is averaging just 3.3 YPC while ranking 12th in the NFL in rushing for the 2-1-1 Packers.
| ’24 YPG | ’25 YPG | ’24 YPC | ’25 YPC | |
| Saquon Barkley | 125.3 | 59.3 | 5.8 | 3.1 |
| Josh Jacobs | 78.2 | 66.5 | 4.4 | 5.0 |
Could the answer be less Barkley and more variety? Will Shipley was healthy and active after missing Weeks 2 and 3 but didn’t get a single carry against the Bucs. A.J. Dillon hasn’t been used very much and carried the ball only three times against Tampa Bay.
Barkley and Jacobs are the only two RBs from 2024 who finished top-5 in total touches who remain top-five through the first four weeks of the season. Falcons RB Bijan Robinson, Rams RB Kyren Williams, and Ravens RB Derrick Henry joined Barkley and Jacobs as the five RBs who had the most touches last season.
But so far, none of those other three are top-five this season. Robinson has the seventh-most touches, Williams the 11th-most and Derrick Henry the 25th-most.
Here’s how their 2025 season averages compare:
| RB | ’24 YPG | ’25 YPG | ’24 Rush YPC | ’25 YPC |
| Bijan Robinson | 78.5 | 85.6 | 4.8 | 4.9 |
| Kyren Williams | 81.2 | 75.8 | 4.1 | 4.5 |
| Derrick Henry | 113.0 | 71.0 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
Robinson and Williams are performing better than last season on a per-carry and per-touch average while Henry is right around the same even though his total rushing yards per game is down as the Ravens have played in some shootouts early this season.
Robinson’s backup, Tyler Allgeier, has 43 carries. William’s backup, Blake Corum, has 23 carries. Barkley’s backups – Dillon and Shipley – have combined for just 12. It should be noted that Hurts has 41 carries but that hasn’t taken away from Barkley’s workload, as Barkley’s 77 runs are second-most in the NFL behind Jacobs (80).
Could the answer be as simple as just giving a few more opportunities to Shipley and Dillon?
SIGN UP HERE to receive PhillyVoice’s Sports newsletters.
Follow Geoff on Twitter/X: @geoffpmosher
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
[ad_2]
Geoff Mosher
Source link
