Saquon Barkley has hurdled plenty of defenders throughout his football career, even dating back to a contest at Kinnick Stadium when he was at Penn State.
But on Sunday afternoon, Barkley did something very few (if any) running backs have ever successfully pulled off. He whipped out a backward hurdle.
Barkley, early in the Philadelphia Eagles’ matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars, caught a pass from Jalen Hurts and started working his way past a pair of defenders. As he got to his third, Barkley turned completely around and hurdled cornerback Jarrian Jones with his back to him before he was finally brought down.
Just watch:
All Jones could do was stare in disbelief behind him after what should’ve been a sure tackle turned into a complete miss.
Barkley turned that play into a 14-yard gain, which gave the Eagles the first down and kept their drive alive. Jake Elliott hit a 43-yard field goal to end the drive to put Philadelphia up 10-0 early in the second quarter. Barkley put the Eagles on the board on their first drive of the game, too, after he caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Hurts in the corner of the end zone. Barkley added a 19-yard rushing touchdown just before halftime.
Barkley entered Sunday’s contest at Lincoln Financial Field with 766 rushing yards and five touchdowns this season, his first with the Eagles after he spent the first six of his career with the New York Giants. Barkley has run for more than 100 yards in four games this season — including against the Giants last month, where he put up a near-career-high 176 yards on just 17 carries. That was his best rushing performance in years, and it marked the second-best rushing day for a running back against their former team in NFL history.
The Eagles entered Sunday’s game with a 5-2 record. They’ve won three straight, and sit in second in the NFC East race behind the Washington Commanders.
This post will be updated with more information shortly.