So many NFL players have a longer run this year than Eagles star Saquon Barkley

On his second carry Sunday against the Broncos, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley followed his blocks to the left side, jetted through a hole and was shifting into high gear with plenty of green ahead just as Broncos edge rusher Jonathan Cooper was chasing him down and abruptly dragged last year's Offensive Player of the Year to the ground.

What had the potential to be the long-awaited signature Barkley home run wound up being a 17-yard gain, his longest of the season. Barkley only got four more carries for the rest of the game, and though he caught a 47-yard touchdown, his season-long struggle to break the kind of run that saturated his highlight reel in 2024 continued for another week, and stood out as the Eagles suffered a 21-17 loss.

It's almost inconceivable that through five weeks of 2025, Barkley's longest run is 17 yards and he still hasn't put together a 100-yard rushing effort.

Last year, through five weeks, Barkley had a 34-yard run in the season opener against the Packers and had four runs of 20 or more yards in the first five games of the season. Three of those four were longer than 30 yards.

Now, he has none. Entering Monday night, at least 52 NFL players have at least one run of 20 or more yards.

Here are some noteworthy names among them – noteworthy, as in they aren't nearly as talented or accomplished as Barkley:

Some interesting facts and observations about the entire list of 52 NFL players:

• First off, who the #$*! is Julius Chesnut??? Oh, he's a seldom-used Titans RB in his fourth season out of Sacred Heart who had a 27-yard run against the Colts in Week 3 – and has 4 yards on his other 5 carries this season.

• Sam Darnold, really? Actually, Darnold, Geno Smith and Marcus Mariota are three of 13 different QBs who have at least one 20-yard this season. Also on the list: Baker Mayfield, Bryce Young, Jaxson Dart, and C.J. Stroud.

• Six different QBs have done it twice: Josh Allen, Justin Fields, Justin Hebert, Kyler Murray, Mayfield, and Mariota.
• Mariota, Jeremy McNichols, Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Chris Rodriguez Jr. are all Commanders, which means the Eagles' NFC East foe has four different players with a longer run this season than Barkley, and both Mariota and Croskey-Merritt have done it twice.
• On the topic of NFC East rivals, Cowboys RBs Miles Sanders and Javonte Williams each have runs of 20 or more yards, along with Giants QB Jaxson Dart and RB Cam Skattebo. So every NFC East rival has at least two players who've had a longer run this year than Barkley.
• Barkley doesn't even have the longest run on his own team. Eagles backup Will Shipley did it on his second carry of the season in Week 1 when he got 20 yards on a pitch to the left side.
• Panthers RB Rico Dowdle gained 206 yards on 23 carries Sunday against the Panthers, subbing for Chuba Hubbard. Dowdle had runs of 53, 43 and 25 yards – which means in one game the Panthers' usual backup had three runs better than Barkley has had all season.
• Rams WR Puka Nacua is one of two WRs whose longest run this season is longer than Barkley's best, the other being Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy.
• The Dolphins are averaging just 82 rushing yards per game – third-worst in the NFL – but Fins RB De'Von Achane still has two runs of more than 20 yards. The Titans are fourth-worst in running the ball (85.2) and have two RBs with at least one 20-yard carry (Julius Chestnut, Tony Pollard).
• That's "Trevor Etienne" of the Panthers on the table, not Jags starter Travis Etienne. Trevor is the younger brother of Travis and only has 12 carries this season.

• MORE EAGLES
• Game ball, three stars, and snap count analysis: Week 5, Eagles vs. Broncos
• Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-Broncos game
• Eagles vs. Broncos observations: Jekyll-and-Hyde act has to stop for Birds

But that's not all …

Barkley's 267 rushing yards through five weeks averages 53.4 per game, way off his 2024 average of 125.3. Last year, his 482 rushing yards through the first five weeks was fourth-best in the NFL.

This year? He's ranked 22nd. Here are just some of the NFL players who have more rushing yards than Barkley this season:

Some interesting facts and observations about the list of 21 NFL players with more rushing yards than Barkley:

• Barkley's 83 carries are fourth-most in the NFL, so of those 21 players, 18 of them have fewer carries than Barkley.

• Jacory Croskey-Merritt only has 43 carries, so he's outgained Barkley by 16 yards on 40 fewer carries.
• Barkley's good friend, Niners RB Christian McCaffrey, ranks 21st in rushing yards at 282 and actually has 8 more carries than Barkley. McCaffrey was the 2023's Offensive Player of the Year.
Misery does love company.

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