The beautiful thing about being a football fan is that no matter how much football you watch on a daily, weekly or yearly basis, you're always bound to see something you've never seen before. Take for example, Sunday's matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars. Now on the surface, this was just any other ordinary football game. But then Eagles running back Saquon Barkley took it upon himself to do something ridiculous and make it extraordinary.
After the game, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was asked about the play, and predictably, the outspoken head coach did not tone down the hyperbole.
“It was the best play I've ever seen,” Sirianni said following the win, per ESPN's Tim McManus. “What I think is so cool, there's going to be kids all over the country and all over Philadelphia trying to make that play and talking about that play and simulating that play as they play backyard football or peewee football. They ain't going to be able to make it — I believe he's the only one in the world that can do that. I'm speechless. It was unbelievable.”
Saquon himself offered a much more toned-down and humble reaction to a play he has every right to boast about.
“I feel like God gave me the ability to play this position and gave me some instincts. Sometimes you've got to let go and let God and your instincts take over,” Barkley said after the game.
Let's just be clear about something real quick… this is not a normal human reaction. This would not have been the instinctual decision for even the most skilled running backs we've ever seen step on an NFL field. There's a certain swagger and creativity that Saquon Barkley possesses that is almost unnatural. It's video game-like, almost as if Barkley logged 10,000 hours playing NFL Street and then applied everything he saw there to the gridiron.
Even Barkley's peers, some of the most highly-trained and naturally gifted athletes alive, couldn't believe what the seven-year vet pulled off against the Jaguars.
“Crazy,” Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith said postgame. “I ain't never seen nothing like it.”
Neither have I, DeVonta. Neither have I.
Saquon Barkley offering reminder of ‘generational talent' hype
It may seem like an eternity at this point, but it's only been a little over six years since Saquon Barkley came into the league out of Penn State with as much hype as a running back has received in the 21st century. Barkley was the 2nd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and there were plenty of prognosticators who believed the ‘generational' running back should've been the top pick.
Injuries and Giants offensive ineptitude derailed a promising career at various times, but despite one setback after another, Barkley continued to flash why he was worth all of the hype. His move to Philadelphia in the offseason was met with some criticism, especially in the New York media market, but who gives a damn about all that at this point? Tiki Barber and Stephen A. can stay mad if they want, but watching Saquon ‘fly' with the Eagles has been a treat.
Along with with Baltimore Ravens battering ram Derrick Henry, Barkley is currently on a pace that will threaten the 2,000 yard mark, proving that both Henry and Barkley were right to leave their previous homes for opportunities within ready-made championship caliber offenses. Apparently, there's a fountain of youth in both Baltimore and Philly, because Henry and Barkley have arguably never looked better.
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