SÃO PAULO — DeVonta Smith is a man of few words so he found a succinct way to explain what he saw from Saquon Barkley on Friday night in Brazil.
“He’s different, man,” Smith said, shaking his head. “He’s different.”
In the best way possible.
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The Eagles have plenty to clean up after escaping Corinthians Arena in São Paulo with a 34-29 win over the Green Bay Packers to kick off their season, but they have to be extremely excited about their new star running back.
Because Barkley was an absolute star in front of the 47,000-plus fans in Brazil in the season opening win.
“I know he's a great player,” Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said. “He had a hell of a game tonight. It's exciting to watch him play. I'm happy that he's on our side. Just going to keep pressing forward. But what a debut for him.”
After spending the first six years of his career with the New York Giants, Barkley signed a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the Eagles this offseason. A big part of the reason he wanted to come to Philadelphia was to play behind a good offensive line and in an offense with a bunch of stars.
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But on Friday, Barkley was the star who shined the brightest.
Barkley, 26, finished the game with 26 touches for 132 yards and 3 touchdowns. On the ground, he had 24 carries for 109 yards and 2 scores and he also caught 2 passes for 23 yards, which included an impressive 18-yard touchdown catch on a wheel route.
It was just the second three-touchdown game of Barkley’s career and the first since his rookie season. And he’s the first player to score three touchdowns in his Eagles debut since Terrell Owens 20 years ago.
“It’s unbelievable,” rookie running back Will Shipley said. “I sit here just smiling because of how special he is. I’ve seen him do it throughout camp and OTAs and all that good stuff but for him to go out there and see it in person. He shined tonight. I was really happy for him. He works his butt off so nobody deserves it more.”
One of the big reasons the Eagles were interested in Barkley was his ability to pick up yards after contact. We saw that on Friday night.
Several of Barkley’s teammates agreed that those big, powerful runs give the offense some extra juice.
“Oh yeah,” right tackle Lane Johnson said. “That’s 235 pounds and runs like a 4.3 so he’s a very gifted individual. He had just one of those freak show catches early and he’s a very dynamic player.”
The 18-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter was the first touchdown in this game. Which meant it was the first NFL touchdown ever scored in South America.
That seemed to hit Barkley in his post-game press conference.
“Yeah, I'm the first person to ever score in South America,” Barkley said. “That's cool. Definitely got to try to get that game going, hang it up or put in my house.”
What made it even cooler was how difficult of a catch it was.
Smith said Barkley sometimes joins the receivers to work on his hands and it paid off against the Packers.
“That was great,” Smith said. “Great on the sideline. It’s crazy because we always talk about the catch, over the shoulder and things. He did great on that.”
It’s not just the Eagles’ offensive players who were excited to watch Barkley get to work on Friday night. The guys who have been dealing with him all summer in practice were happy they didn’t have to stop him in a real game.
“I feel so bad for everybody else who has to tackle him,” safety Reed Blankenship said. “Because we had to tackle him when he was with the Giants. He’s a big dude, man, and he’s hard to get down. I’m happy we have him on our side of the ball.”
But for the last couple of seasons, Blankenship was faced with having to try to tackle Barkley in NFC East battles.
How the heck do you do that?
“It’s tough, man,” Blankenship said. “He’s one of the best backs in the league. He’s got everything. If you don’t take the right angle, he’s going to make you miss. If you take the right angle, he’s going to run you over. At the end of the day, it’s a lose-lose sometimes.”
But now for the Eagles, it’s a win-win.
And it helped them get their first win of the 2024 season and no doubt made the 9 1/2-hour flight back to Philadelphia a little more enjoyable.
When Barkley first signed with the Eagles after six years with the division rival Giants, it was probably a little bit weird. All that has clearly worn off since then.
“Nope, not no more,” Brandon Graham said with a laugh. “It’s official now.”
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