September 06, 2024
Kirby Lee/Imagn Images
Eagles RB Saquon Barkley runs into the open field during the first half Friday night against the Packers down in Brazil.
The Eagles did a lot this offseason to try and make up for what went wrong at the end of last season.
They also stayed the course in a lot of areas as well, amid major changes to the team's scheme and personnel.
Which big change is looking like a really good investment? And which is looking like a mistake after a thrilling trip to São Paulo and a 34-29 win over the Packers Friday night?
The first of our weekly Eagles' stock reports:
In his first game as an Eagle, Barkley silenced everyone who doubted he would be worth the price tag.
Putting together his fourth-best career game ever (by fantasy football half PPR standards at least), the 27-year-old running back scored the first touchdown of the season for the Eagles on a gorgeous connection with Jalen Hurts:
Saquon Barkley Welcome to Philadelphia #SaquonBarkley great TD catch in his Eagles debut
— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) September 7, 2024
pic.twitter.com/6n7c2gMK2P
He would go on to score two more — each on the ground — gaining 109 rushing yards in the process. It's also worth mentioning he came one yard from scoring a fourth late in the game.
With 16 more games to play there is no telling whether he'll continue to be a monster in the red zone. And out of the backfield as a pass-catcher. And up the middle with Hurts both under center and in the gun.
But it's clear the Eagles have not had a tailback capable of everything that Barkley is since the LeSean McCoy days, and it's arguable whether Shady had the kind of downhill power the Penn State product has.
Making things even more bittersweet is that Barkley left the hated Giants, to run with the best offense he's ever been a part of in Philly. It's a debut that won't soon be forgotten and one fans will surely hold as an impossible standard for him as the season continues.
In 2021, Nick Sirianni's first season as Eagles head coach, Jalen Hurts — who was preparing to be an NFL starting quarterback for his first full season — threw seven passes in the team's preseason opener against the Steelers.
In 2022 Hurts took snaps against the Jets in a preseason game and all the Eagles did was make it all the way to the Super Bowl, coming extremely close to winning it. A season later, the Eagles held their starters out for the entire exhibition slate, and started 10-1. But then they eventually collapsed in epic fashion.
After what was an impressive training camp for Hurts that included joint practices with the Patriots, the Eagles yet again did not give any of their first team offensive players a snap in the preseason. With a new offensive coordinator and scheme, a new center (converted guard Cam Jurgens) taking over for retired Jason Kelce, and new pieces like Barkley — it would have made some sense to give the Eagles a drive or two.
They did not, and Kellen Moore's Eagles' offense debuted in spectacular fashion. Spectacularly bad.
On the first drive of the season Hurts threw a terrible pass into traffic with no real chance of being completed. It was picked off — and the defense bailed the offense out holding the Packers to a field goal.
On their next drive, Jurgens snapped the ball out of the shotgun before Hurts was ready and Green Bay recovered — the defense once again bailing the offense out by holding the Packers to a field goal.
The Eagles were able to hang on and win despite just as many mistakes as big plays in Week 1, and credit is due to Hurts, manning up to help kill time in the Birds' final drive, and the defense for making some key stops. A win is a win.
There are excuses all around to be made for that slow start — the field was slop, the trip to Brazil was perilous — but maybe, just maybe it might have helped just a little bit if Sirianni gave his offense a chance to find its sea legs before embarrassing itself on the field to start the season.
In a game with such a slim margin, it surely could have made a difference.
Follow Evan on Twitter:@evan_macy
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
