This will be a fun one.
The Eagles’ 15-12 win over the Saints Sunday was a stat lover's dream, and Saquon Barkley and Dallas Goedert alone gave us enough material for an over-stuffed stats column.
And we've got plenty of Barkley and Goedert stats, numbers and trends but plenty of other good stuff as well. And maybe some bad stuff at the end. Just because negative stats can be fun too.
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1A. We’ve got to start with Barkley, who is off to one of the hottest starts of any running back in Eagles history with 351 rushing yards, 404 scrimmage yards, five touchdowns and a 5.6 rushing average in his first three games with the Eagles. Barkley is only the eighth running back in NFL history with 350 rushing yards, five TDs and a 5.5 average three weeks into any season. Along with Michael Turner of the Falcons in 2008 and Kareem Hunt with the Chiefs in 2017, he’s the third player in the last 40 years to reach those benchmarks in his first three games with a team. Barkley is the first Eagle ever with 350 rushing yards, a 5.5 average and five TDs in any three-game span.
1B. Barkley’s 65-yard touchdown was the longest in franchise history in the fourth quarter of a one-possession game. The previous long was Brian Westbrook’s 62-yarder that gave the Eagles a 23-13 lead (and win) in Buffalo in 2003. It was Barkley’s fifth career touchdown of at least 65 yards, and only five players in history have more – Adrian Peterson (9), Chris Johnson (8), Derrick Henry (7), Barry Sanders (7) and Jim Brown (6).
1C. Barkley averaged 8.7 yards per carry Sunday on 17 carries for 147 yards. Only four running backs in Eagles history have had a higher average in a game with a minimum of 15 carries – Swede Hanson in 1934, Tim Brown twice in 1965, LeSean McCoy in 2010 and Bryce Brown in 2012. (Crazy how Bryce Brown elbows his way into every imaginable Eagles rushing stat.)
1D. Barkley’s 34 points so far – five TDs and two two-point conversions – are 3rd-most ever by an Eagle after three games, behind only Steve Van Buren – who scored 36 the first three games of 1945 – and Cody Parkey, who scored 35 the first three games of 2014. David Akers is the only other Eagle over 30 points. He scored 33 the first three games in 2002.
Philadelphia Eagles
1E. Barkley is also the first Eagles running back with 100 or more scrimmage yards in each of the first three games of a season since McCoy in 2013. The only longer streak belongs to Brian Westbrook, who opened the 2007 season with five straight 100-yard scrimmage games.
2A. And then there’s Goedert, who caught 10 passes for 170 yards, including the pivotal 61-yarder in the final minute that set up Barkley’s game-winning touchdown. Goedert’s 170 yards are the 2nd-most ever by an Eagles tight end and the most in 59 years, since Pete Retzlaff had 204 in a win over Washington at Franklin Field in 1965. He’s the 10th tight end in NFL history with 10 catches and 170 yards in a game. His 17.0 yards per catch average is 6th-highest ever by an NFL tight end with at least 10 catches and 4th-highest ever by any Eagle (behind Kevin Curtis, DeSean Jackson and Bud Grant).
2B. Goedert’s 61-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter was the Eagles’ longest pass play in the final two minutes of a fourth quarter in 36 years, since Randall Cunningham’s 80-yard touchdown to Cris Carter with 1:48 left on a Monday night in 1988. Carter’s TD clinched a 24-13 win at the Vet. That was the longest catch of the Hall of Famer's 16-year career. It was also the longest catch by an Eagles tight end since Brent Celek’s 73-yarder from Michael Vick in a 45-19 win over the Jets at the Linc in 2011.
2C. Goedert became the first Eagle with two 30-yard catches in a fourth quarter since Nelson Agholor had receptions of 42 and 51 from Carson Wentz in a 29-23 loss at AT&T Stadium in 2018. He’s their only tight end with two 30-yard catches in a fourth quarter or three 30-yard catches in a game since 1994, which is as far back as available records go.
3C. Goedert came into Sunday’s game with two career receptions of at least 43 yards – a 45-yarder from Jalen Hurts vs. Washington in 2021 and a 49-yarder from Hurts vs. the Rams in 2023. He doubled that total in New Orleans. Throw in the 30-yarder, and three of the 12-longest catches of his seven-year career came Sunday vs. the Saints.
3C. Previous Eagles with 10 catches and 170 yards in a game: Don Looney [1940], Bud Grant [1952], Tommy McDonald [1961], Harold Carmichael [1973], Fred Barnett [1994], T.O. [2005], Kevin Curtis [2007], Jeremy Maclin twice [2011, 2014] and DeSean Jackson [2013].
4. Reed Blankenship’s 4th-quarter interception was his second this year and sixth in just 28 career games. He’s the first Eagles defensive back with six INTs in his first 28 career games since Hall of Fame finalist Eric Allen, who had 12 in his first 28 games over the 1988 and 1989 seasons. Blankenship’s five INTs over the last two years are tied for most by any NFL undrafted player since opening day of 2023 with 49ers Pro Bowl cornerback Charvarius Ward. Over the last 30 years, the only undrafted player who began his career with the Eagles with more INTs is Quintin Mikell, who had 10 from 2003 through 2010. The last NFL undrafted player with more INTs in his first 28 games was J.C. Jackson, who had nine with the Patriots in 2018 and 2019. Blankenship has the Eagles’ last three interceptions and five of their last 10.
5. Jalen Hurts completed 76.7 percent of his passes vs. the Falcons and 76.3 percent in New Orleans. He’s the first quarterback in Eagles history to complete at least 75 percent of his passes in consecutive regular-season games. Nick Foles did it in the 2017 postseason – 76.7 percent also vs. the Falcons and 78.8 percent vs. the Vikings. Hurts’ 70.6 percent completion percentage so far this year is 2nd-highest by an Eagles quarterback after three weeks. Randall Cunningham completed 73.6 percent of his passes through three weeks in his monster 1992 season.
6. The Eagles have now gone 11 straight games without winning the turnover battle. They’ve been zero or worse in turnover margin in every game since they were plus-1 in their win over the Chiefs in Week 11 last year. The Eagles’ only longer streaks since 1960 – as far back as available records go – are a 15-game streak over the 1967 and 1968 seasons and a 12-game streak in 2012. Since opening day last year, the Eagles are minus-14 – tied with the Falcons for worst in the league.
7. The Eagles have now gone 30 consecutive games with one or no interceptions. That’s the 4th-longest streak in NFL history. The Eagles’ longest previous streak of games without two interceptions was 22 games over the 1983 and 1984 seasons. Last time the Eagles had two INTs in a game was the 40-33 win over the Packers in November 2022, when Josiah Scott and Blankenship both picked off Aaron Rodgers. The NFL record is 40 straight games with one or fewer INTs set by the Raiders from 2003 through 2006 and ended when Nnamdi Asomugha picked off Browns QB Charlie Frye twice in a 24-21 loss at Oakland Alameda County Stadium. The Eagles also have a streak of 11 straight games with one or no takeaways, longest in franchise history and tied for 8th-longest in NFL history.
8. One more on Hurts: He’s now thrown an interception in seven straight regular-season games. That’s the longest streak by an Eagles quarterback since 1996, when Ty Detmer had a seven-game streak. The last QB with a longer streak is Rodney Peete with eight straight over the 1995 and 1996 seasons.
9. OK, this is crazy: Sunday’s game was the first in franchise history in which the the Eagles netted at least 460 yards of offense and scored 15 or fewer points. Their fewest previous points in a game when they gained at least 460 yards was 17 when they had 477 yards in a 37-17 loss at Dallas in 2020. Also, the last time they outgained a team by 240 or more yards and didn’t win by more than three points was Week 6 in 1965, when they outgained the Steelers by 256 yards [388-132] and lost 20-14 at Franklin Field. The Eagles had lost 35 consecutive regular-season games when they scored 15 or fewer points (although they did beat the Falcons 15-10 in the 2017 postseason). Their last regular-season win when scoring less than 16 points was 15-6 over the Steelers at the Linc in 2008.
10A. The Eagles trailed 3-0 Sunday going into the fourth quarter and won 15-12. Last time they were scoreless after three quarters and then scored 15 or more points in the fourth quarter was Oct. 27, 1985, when they trailed the Bills 17-0 through three quarters but scored 21 unanswered points on a Ron Jaworski three-yard run, a Wes Hopkins 24-yard pick-6 off Vince Ferragamo and Jaws’ 32-yard touchdown pass to Mike Quick for a 21-17 win.
10B. This was also the Eagles’ first game in 24 years where they won after being shut out for three quarters. Last time it happened was Week 20 of 2000, when they trailed the Cowboys 10-0 going into the fourth quarter before winning in overtime. They cut the deficit to 10-3 on a David Akers field goal two minutes into the fourth quarter, then tied the game on – believe it or not – a 23-yard touchdown catch by Darnell Autry from Donovan McNabb – the only TD catch of Autry’s brief career. The Cowboys took a 13-10 lead on a Tim Seder field goal with 1:51 left, but Akers tied it at 0:11 with another field goal and won it in overtime with his third field goal of the game. The Eagles are now 97-7 in franchise history when they don’t score in the first three quarters.