What the Commanders Taught Us About Eagles Running Game
A franchise record 10-game winning streak ended with a 36-33 loss against the Washington Commanders on Sunday. The Philadelphia Eagles slipped to 12-3 despite another impressive statistical output with 211 rushing yards.
Saquon Barkley has led the resurgent rushing attack to the NFL’s top spot, averaging 187 yards per game. However, the loss in Landover, Maryland underscored characteristics of the Eagles running game that trace back through the tenure of Jalen Hurts as the starting quarterback.
Commanders Stifle Eagles Running Game
MVP candidate Saquon Barkley stormed out of the gates with a 19-yard run on his first touch. He continued to slice through the Washington secondary like a knife through warm butter for 37 yards on four carries on the opening drive, including the game’s first touchdown.
The former second-overall pick raced past pulling guard Mekhi Becton for a perfect scamper behind lead-blocker C.J. Uzomah untouched for a 68-yard touchdown on Philadelphia’s third possession.
He gained 99 of his 109 first quarter yards before contact. Greg Olsen lauded the Eagles running game on the Fox broadcast as “the perfect marriage” between the newly-added Barkley and an offensive line that’s performed among the league’s best units in recent seasons.
Washington adjusted and held Barkley to 41 yards on 22 carries in the final three quarters. His success rate on running plays after the highlight-reel touchdown mirrored the season numbers of the worst running backs in the NFL.
After Hurts left the game with a concussion, the Washington defense stopped respecting the passing game as a legitimate threat under Kenny Pickett.
They stacked the box to shut down Barkley, and the Eagles didn’t respond with the right blend of complementary football needed to clinch the NFC East in Week 16.
Saquon Barkley in “The Perfect Marriage”
Barkley has given the Eagles an explosive element to the running game that didn’t exist with Miles Sanders, D’Andre Swift, or any other running back who’s started next to Hurts the past four seasons.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Barkley leads the league with 518 rushing yards over expected (RYOE). The advanced stat attempts to isolate a ball carrier’s contributions.
While Barkley has played an irreplaceable role bumping the eighth-ranked rushing attack from 2023 to the top, there’s a reason the stats didn’t equally measure the same player’s isolated impact in past seasons while he was running behind a subpar offensive line for the New York Giants.
A strong, physical offensive line has been a calling card the Eagles for most of the 12-year tenure of Jeff Stoutland, and the unit plays a central role in the running game.
Cam Jurgens has developed in the same mold as his predecessor Jason Kelce using his speed and athleticism to pull on running plays and execute blocks at the second level. Landon Dickerson has emerged as one of the top interior linemen in NFL to pile onto the weight of three natural tackles combining for 1053 pounds on the starting line.
Barkley boosts his yards over expected drastically on explosive running plays. An average NFL running back might gain a few extra yards over expected on his better runs, but Barkley maximizes the advantage of a dominant offensive line by capitalizing on opportunities for plus carries by breaking them for long touchdowns.
His fourth touchdown of 60+ yards on Sunday tied an NFL single-season record held by Jim Brown and Adrian Peterson. Barkley’s combination of speed, power, and quickness to the hole on the run flawlessly represented the “perfect marriage” that Olsen talked about.
The Jalen Hurts Factor
So what was the problem with the perfect marriage? There’s a third crucial element that doesn’t always come up in the conversation.
Jalen Hurts regressed as a runner in 2023, most likely because of a lingering knee issue, but he’s bounced back to show better explosion on the ground through 15 games in 2024. His 22-yard draw in the first quarter against Washington utilized the same blocking advantage that Jurgens’ athleticism has given Barkley.
Kenny Pickett will not keep defenses off balance with zone reads or RPOs like Hurts does. Opponents will inevitably allocate resources differently against a backup quarterback with an underwhelming skill set.
The Eagles didn’t hold up well enough on the offensive line against Washington’s adjustments in Week 16. Frankie Luvu led a front seven that swarmed the backfield to keep the game within reach for Jayden Daniels to pull off a miracle comeback.
Becton missed a blocking assignment in the third quarter that put Barkley in harm’s way for a four-yard loss. The obvious blunder presented a microcosm of a unit that could’ve performed better to keep the Eagles running game afloat. Tight end Grant Calcaterra also struggled as a blocker throughout the day.
Kellen Moore changed his play-calling strategy without Hurts on the field. Look no further than a designed halfback pass on third-and-goal to indicate Moore and Nick Sirianni’s lack of trust in Pickett.
The infamous Tush Push utilizes the Philadelphia offensive line’s size like a well-oiled machine, but the Eagles didn’t show their usual confidence in keeping the entire playbook open on third down calls with the hated push in their back pocket. They passed on an opportunity to run it on fourth-and-1 with Pickett under center.
The Commanders also played more zone coverages after Pickett entered the game, which doesn’t accentuate the skill sets that A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith show against man coverage.
Teams playing backup quarterbacks need to play complementary football to utilize their strengths at other positions. Philadelphia’s inability to do so with Hurts out of the game was their true failure on Sunday.
Eagles Running Game
Saquon Barkley has maximized the opportunities given to him by a stout offensive line who previously blocked for running backs who left meat on the bone.
Howie Roseman’s addition has unlocked a new level of success for the NFL’s top rushing attack this season. It’s an offensive feature that could carry them to a Super Bowl without concerns of Miles Sanders making critical mistakes on the biggest stage.
Barkley deserves the media praise and the All-Pro accolades. He’s even forced outsiders (like myself) to reconsider the value of the running back position independent of his offensive line.
However, dominant units perform in synergy. Barkley wouldn’t be nearing 2000 rushing yards without incredible blocking, and the Eagles wouldn’t have the league’s best running game without their star back.
Sunday’s loss provided more evidence that Hurts contributes to the overwhelmingly fast and physical rushing attack in ways that aren’t always quantified.
The Eagles experienced the same running game issues in 2022. Gardner Minshew stepped in for Hurts in two late-season games for a team rolling on all cylinders. A running game that finished fifth in the NFL averaging 147 yards per game lost momentum for only 154 yards in two losses for the Eagles.
If Jalen Hurts returns from the concussion, the added zone read threat and passing ability immediately cancels the advantage Washington utilized on Sunday and reintroduces the full threat of the physical rushing attack.
Until then, the Eagles must figure out a way to prevent a quarterback injury from negating arguably the games’ the best running back and best offensive line.
