No surprises here: Saquon Barkley has the NFC's Offensive Player of the Week honor.
Facing his former team up in East Rutherford last Sunday, Barkley torched the Giants for 176 rushing yards and a touchdown, setting the tone for a big day early into the second quarter, when he took off on a 55-yard run down the left sideline that went toward setting up the Eagles' first touchdown.
The Eagles only piled on from there, on both sides of the ball, beating their division rival 28-3.
SAQUON. 55-YARD RUN.
📺: #PHIvsNYG on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/x02woOkZaj— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024
Barkley finished the day 13 yards shy of matching his career-high rushing mark of 189, and postgame, head coach Nick Sirianni said he offered the running back the chance to go back in for the fourth quarter to get those extra few.
He passed on it to let the reserves get their time.
"I was like 'You're special, dude,'" Sirianni said of that conversation with Barkley postgame. "He's a special player. He's a special person. I read all the stuff that all the Giants players were saying about him. They said it was gonna be war, but they all love him, and I know this football team loves him."
The Eagles have since released the NFL Films clip of that conversation on the sideline.
They also had another to share later in the week…
'A.J. Brown is f***ing good at football!'
Here's Barkley's real-time reaction to that fourth-down touchdown bomb from Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown that put the Eagles up 14-0:
@saquon's reaction to A.J. Brown's TD is how we all felt 😂 pic.twitter.com/bh1UQVJNu4
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 22, 2024
Six 'OH MY GODs' followed by "Personally, I wouldn't have thrown that!" – if that didn't sum up the majority of the Eagles' fan base on that play in a nutshell.
A lockdown future
Let's flip to the other side of the ball and the Eagles' two rookie corners.
We've broken down earlier how Quinyon Mitchell has been fearless in the face of some of the NFL's toughest coverage assignments, and that certainly didn't change with last Sunday's win over New York.
Here are a couple clips of Mitchell throwing the clamps down on Giants star rookie Malik Nabers:
Watch Quinyon Mitchell on Malik Nabers…😳 pic.twitter.com/zONhCWs6cW
— Jake Rabadi (@JakeRabadiNFL) October 20, 2024
Quinyon Mitchell vs. Malik Nabers. pic.twitter.com/dpvFNQcBGS
— Victor Williams (@ThePhillyPod) October 20, 2024
And for good measure, here is leveling Wan'Dale Robinson on a quick pass in the open field.
Nice hit by Quinyon Mitchell pic.twitter.com/SatDylcroi
— DIE-HARD 🦅 REALTOR® (@Eaglesfans9) October 20, 2024
Mitchell was targeted four times in coverage against the Giants. He only allowed two completions for 15 yards, per pro-football-reference.
Nabers, in his first game back from a concussion, had only four receptions for 41 yards on eight targets – his lowest output of the season.
What about Cooper DeJean since he moved in as the Eagles' nickel corner?
Cooper DeJean among CBs in Week 7:
🔒 86.3 PFF grade (3rd)
🔒 28 coverage snaps
🔒 3 receiving yards allowed
🔒 3 stops (T-5th) pic.twitter.com/fdyGFSIeXQ— PFF PHI Eagles (@PFF_Eagles) October 22, 2024
So far so good for Howie Roseman's 2024 draft haul – to which it's also worth noting that third-round pass rusher Jalyx Hunt recorded his first NFL sack late into last Sunday's win, too – it could end up proving huge for the health of the Eagles' defensive backfield long-term.
MORE: The Eagles have a legit fullback in Ben VanSumeren
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