Saquon Barkley, in a word: Super Bowl LIX participants briefly describe the greatest season by an Eagles running back
"G.O.A.T. ... Unstoppable ... Immaculate ... Unfinished," are a few adjectives coaches and players on both the Eagles and Chiefs used to describe Barkley.
NEW ORLEANS — When Saquon Barkley broke a 60-yard touchdown run on the Eagles’ first play from scrimmage in the NFC championship game, my reaction was: Bruh.
After five months of jaw-dropping plays and ceaseless excellence, Barkley, at this point, simply leaves you speechless. He’s reduced reactions to Gen Z slang. It feels like the only way to properly express Barkley’s perpetual brilliance is in emoji-speech. You know, the one where the top of the little guy’s head is smoke, because his mind has been blown.
🤯
What Barkley has done, and keeps on doing, reads like a bad movie script: Penn State star from the Allentown area leaves the New York Giants, lands in Philly, sets the team rushing record, hurdles a guy backward in one game, scores a 78-yard touchdown in the divisional round while smacking himself in the helmet and running through a snowstorm, then, on his first touch of the NFC title game, he busts his seventh TD run of the season of at least 60 yards, including the playoffs.
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I mean, seriously, bruh.
It’s hard to put into words the magnitude of such a season. His 2,005 yards in 2024 is eighth best all-time. With 442 yards in three playoff games, he enters Super Bowl LIX on Sunday just 30 yards shy of Terrell Davis’ 1998 record of 2,476 rushing yards in a regular season plus the postseason. Seems like a safe bet, considering this season, Barkley already has 13 runs of at least 30 yards.
Again, hard to put into words. Or even one word. So I asked for help from folks who know the game far better than I ever will: For them, what’s the one word that best expresses Barkley’s season?
Some duplicated the responses of others, and many expounded past one word, but, to no one’s surprise, they did a much better job than I would have.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie: “I would just say ‘extraordinary.’ What is maybe not known by some is his impact on our locker room — his humility — is everything we ever talk about.”
Eagles GM Howie Roseman: “‘Special.’ Special season. Special person.”
Chiefs coach Andy Reid: “‘Perseverance.’ All the ups and downs he’s been through.” (Barkley missed 14 games with a knee injury in 2020 and played on just one playoff team in six seasons before this one.)
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Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Eagles edge rusher Nolan Smith: “‘Explosive.’”
Eagles receiver A.J. Brown: “‘Unstoppable.’”
Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata: “‘Generational.’”
Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson: “‘G.O.A.T.’”
Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith: “‘Puzzle.’” Um … Puzzle? “Yeah. Like, you’d never expect him to do that.”
Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat: “‘Day-um.’” Day-um? “Yeah. ‘Daaaaay-uuuum!’ You know. Like, ‘Damn, man!’”
Eagles cornerback Darius Slay, Eagles defensive tackle Thomas Booker: “‘Sensational.’”
Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell and tight end Dallas Goedert: “‘Amazing.’”
Eagles linebacker Oren Burks: “‘Impact.’ And not just his play, but how he is in the locker room, how he is as a man.” (Burks played with Christian McCaffrey last season, who had one of the best years a running back has ever had and who helped the 49ers reach the Super Bowl.)
Eagles running back Will Shipley: “‘Immaculate.’”
Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis, Eagles receivers coach Aaron Moorehead: “‘Unbelievable.’” Moorehead was a receiver for the Colts for five seasons, and, like his father, Emery, he won a Super Bowl as a player. “When you can make other NFL players on the sideline go, ‘Holy [crap], what did I just watch?’, and say it on a week-to-week basis, it’s unbelievable.”
Eagles safety Reed Blankenship: “‘M-V-P.’”
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Chiefs running backs coach Todd Pinkston: “‘Dynamic.’”
Eagles defensive tackle Moro Ojomo: “‘Relentless.’”
Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt: “I would describe it as ‘freak’. He’s been going crazy, and I love his game. I even liked him when he was in New York and at Penn State. Just one of those guys who’s fun to watch.”
Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson: “‘Unique.’”
Eagles run-game coordinator and offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland: “‘Electric.’”
Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham: “No. Because it ain’t done with.”
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni echoed the same theme: “‘Amazing.’” He thought about his answer for a moment, then amended it and improved it:
“‘Unfinished.’”