Barkley and the Eagles’ run game had trouble getting going early in the season. He was averaging 52.7 rushing yards per game and 3.3 yards per attempt coming into Sunday’s win, down from 125.3 and 5.8, respectively, last season. Barkley’s 2024 was historic as he became just the ninth player ever to reach 2,000 rushing yards, but Mailata said given the defense they’re seeing it’s unrealistic to expect that to happen again.
That’s still the goal, Mailata said, but he added they need to “align your expectations with reality.” With that, the Eagles have needed to lean more on their pass game in recent weeks.
Jalen Hurts threw for 179 yards and four touchdowns against the Giants, one week after posting a perfect 158.3 passer rating against the Vikings in Week 7. The Eagles ‘passing game is cooking, and that opened room for Barkley and Co. to feast on the ground against the Giants.
“Knowing that every week’s not going to be how you want it to be sometimes, but you can’t lose faith,” said Barkley, who also added a receiving touchdown. “You’ve got to come in and continue to stick to the routine, continue to build, and sometimes that’s how it goes. But, you’d rather be going like this than the opposite way.
“I feel like we got things rolling in the running game today, and we can build on that. But, most importantly, whether it’s in the running game or passing the ball, we won. That’s the only thing we’re really searching for.”