The Eagles’ running game has gone from a strength to a problem, and the numbers are ugly enough to make that impossible to ignore.
Nine games into the season, Philadelphia is sitting 28th in the NFL in rushing yards per game at 88.6 and 28th in yards per carry at 3.7. That’s not just a dip.
It’s the Eagles’ worst rushing output through nine games since 2005, when they were at 72 rushing yards per game and 3.6 yards per carry. It’s also their second-worst mark through nine games since 1991, when they were at 76.4 yards per game and 2.8 per carry.
And this isn’t just a one-dimensional offense struggling through the air. The Eagles are also 29th in passing yards per game and last in passing yards per play.
That leaves them with one of the league’s worst passing attacks and one of its worst rushing attacks. That’s a brutal combination.
The biggest issue starts up front. The offensive line hasn’t been able to hold up in pass protection or create room in the run game.
Saquon Barkley has dealt with injuries all season, and behind him the Eagles have cycled through backups who haven’t produced and, in most cases, haven’t stayed healthy either. Add in what’s been described as a lack of imagination in the run game from play caller Sean Mannion, and the result is Philadelphia’s worst rushing attack in more than 20 years.
“Obviously, you can't say it's just one thing because it's many different things,” Nick Sirianni said. “Some of that is just the inefficiency of the offense not creating more plays off of first downs to get more plays, to get more cracks at it.
You don't score points unless you shoot the ball. It's the same thing there.
On offense, if you're not getting the plays, the number count of it, then that's hard to execute as well.”
Barkley’s season has been strange. He’s flashed at times, and his 4.3 yards per carry is still solid on paper. But he hasn’t topped 15 carries in a game, and during the Eagles’ seven-game losing streak he has played in five games while averaging just 10 carries and 41 yards per game.
The depth chart behind him has been a revolving door. Will Shipley, Tank Bigsby, Carson Steele, Dameon Pierce and Elijah Mitchell all got chances, but none found much success, and all but Mitchell ended up on Injured Reserve. With Jaydon Blue now released, Barkley is the only running back currently on the 53-man roster.
After the loss to the Giants, Barkley took the blame for the run game himself, even if the broader issues clearly go far beyond one player.
“We definitely didn't establish a run today,” he said in the locker room after the Eagles’ seventh straight loss. “We didn't do a lot of good today on offense, but especially the run game.
It starts and finishes with me, so I wasn't good enough today. This wasn't a good thing.
I just wasn't good enough today.”
If you strip out the 38 carries for 197 yards by the quarterbacks, Eagles running backs are averaging just 3.45 yards per carry and 66 yards per game.
That’s a stunning fall for a team that, from 2021 through last year, ranked among the NFL’s best rushing offenses. Over that five-year span, the Eagles averaged 147 rushing yards per game, second only to the Ravens, and their 4.6 yards per carry ranked tied for third behind the Ravens and Bills.
The drop-off has been even worse after halftime. Philadelphia is averaging 3.7 yards per carry in the first half with eight rushing touchdowns and 29 rushing first downs.
In the second half, that number falls to 3.4 yards per carry, and the Eagles have only 15 rushing first downs, the fewest in the NFL. They’re also the only team in the league without a rushing touchdown after halftime.
“I don't believe in pointing a finger in any direction,” Barkley said. “You’ve got to dominate your box, we always say that. And there's things, there's plays out there that I want back, there's things that I've got to be better at.
“I truly think if we all take that mindset that dominate our box and really focus on the things that we all can do as an individual, I think that's going to make us better as a collective.”
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