Why does Saquon Barkley turn into Superman at halftime?

Saquon Barkley is an average running back. Honestly, a little below average. 

Yep. Barkley’s rushing average is worse than Rachaad White, Jeremy McNichols and Tyrone Tracy. It’s worse than Brian Robinson, David Montgomery and Geno Smith. Worse than Aaron Jones, Tyler Huntley and Samaje Perine.

Oh, that’s all in the first half.

After that?

He’s a beast.

Barkley is enjoying an all-pro-caliber season in his first year with the Eagles, and with seven games left in the season he’s on pace to shatter a bunch of franchise records and rack up a host of postseason awards. He leads the NFL with 113 rushing yards per game, five more than Derrick Henry, and his 5.8 average is just behind Henry's 6.0. 

But the crazy thing about his season is that Barkley never seems to get going until the second half. And in some cases – like Thursday night against Washington – not until the fourth quarter.

“Having Stout (running game coach Jeff Stoutland) and T.J (Paganetti, run game specialist) and those guys, coach (Jemal) Singleton making the adjustments at halftime, that’s what football is,” Barkley said.

 “(The opponent) is going to come out there and they’re going to do things and we’re going to make adjustments and we have to start executing.”

In the first half this year, Barkley has 94 carries for 399 yards, a modest 4.2 average. That ranks 24th of 37 running backs with at least 40 carries before halftime this year. 

In the second half, he’s got 103 carries for 738 yards, a ridiculous 7.2 average. That’s the highest by any running back in the second half in 18 years – Michael Vick was at an absurd 9.1 yards per carry in the second half of the 2006 season.

So Barkley is averaging three yards more per carry in the second half than the first.

He has 10 runs of at least 20 yards this year – one in the first half and nine in the second half. In all, 13 of his 15-longest runs this year have come after halftime.

But unlike some coaches we’ve seen around here, who abandon the run if the first few attempts don’t go anywhere, Kellen Moore keeps dialing up the ground game with the thinking that if he keeps giving Barkley opportunities, eventually the floodgates will open.

And they have, almost every week.

Barkley said the way the Eagles train during the offseason and practice during the season gives him the opportunity to shine late in games.

“That’s why we train the way we train,” he said. “Whether it’s on my own or OTAs, I think this offseason kind of gave us a college mindset. We were really grinding with each other and when you have those guys up front it’s easy to get stronger because they’re leaning on those guys (on defense).

“So just keep trusting them, keep trusting the scheme and try to make the right reads because they’re doing a great job for me.”

Like Thursday night.

All Barkley had to show for the game’s first 55 minutes was 77 yards on 22 carries, just 3 ½ yards per carry. 

Carry No. 23: A 23-yard touchdown.

Carry No. 25: A 39-yard touchdown.

In the last five minutes, he ran four times for 69 yards as the Eagles pulled away from Washington for their sixth straight win.

“It was tough sledding at the beginning, but (Moore) kept leaning on the run game as the game continued on,” Nick Sirianni said. “It was huge that we were able to get that going and Kellen for sticking with it even though some of it was muddy early. 

“But that's how it goes sometimes in the run game. It's ugly sometimes. It's grimy sometimes. But you continue to grind that out and that really helped us put that game away.”

Let's look at Barkley's 2024 season quarter-by-quarter:

First quarter: 44 carries, 176 yards, 4.0 average, 0 TDs.

Second quarter: 50 carries, 223 yards, 4.5 average, 3 TDs.

Third quarter: 58 carries, 418 yards, 7.2 average, 1 TDs.

Fourth quarter: 45 carries, 320 yards, 7.1 average, 4 TDs

It sure seems like Barkley gets stronger the more carries he gets, which would seem to defy every law of nature. 

But his three-longest TD runs this year have come in the fourth quarter after the Eagles’ offensive line has worn down opposing defenses. 

“We just kept trusting it,” Barkley said. “I know I sound like a broken record, but that’s really what it was. just keep on trusting it. 

“Washington came out with a really great game plan, but that’s the beauty of football. You can stop us for 20-something carries but you rip off two long ones when it matters most, and the stats look pretty good and you get a win.”

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