Barkley Runs 62 Yards on Just Nine Snaps in Loss

Nine snaps. That was the total amount of offensive time Saquon Barkley spent on the field Monday night for the Philadelphia Eagles. In those nine plays, he touched the ball every single time.

Barkley finished the game with seven carries for 62 yards and a touchdown. He also caught two passes for nine yards. The Eagles lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 38 to 21. It is the first time in the past 20 seasons that a starting running back played at least nine offensive snaps and had a touch on all of them.

The player entered the matchup listed as questionable due to a hamstring injury that kept him out for the previous two weeks. His back also locked up during the game. Barkley tweaked his back on a 29-yard run in the first quarter. He said the issue got progressively worse from that point on. His final snap came in the third quarter.

He spent time in the medical tent and stretched with trainers on the bench. Immediately after his 8-yard touchdown run on the first possession, he went directly to the sideline exercise bike. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said the staff felt Barkley was ready to play. Sirianni noted that Barkley wanted to be out there for his teammates and likely had to slow him down. The coach called him tough and said the player would have been out there every play because of his toughness.

Barkley said his hamstring felt great after the game. He does not believe the back issue will keep him out going forward, though he deferred to the training staff. He said he loves the game and believes a player must sometimes push the body to the limit. He acknowledged it is difficult to lead when the body does not respond as desired.

The Eagles lost other running backs to injuries this season. Will Shipley is out with a foot issue. Tank Bigsby has an abdomen injury. Carson Steele has a shoulder injury. Those three are on injured reserve. Dameon Pierce left the game in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury. That left the running duties to Elijah Mitchell. Mitchell was brought up from the practice squad for the Monday night game.