NEW ORLEANS – For his greatest trick this season, Saquon Barkley will try to do something nobody has done against the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense in six years. With the kind of season the Eagles’ running back has had, it may not be wise to doubt that he can do it.
Already, the Eagles running back has become the first Eagles player to win the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, earned All-Pro honors, became just the ninth player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in one season, and owns the league record of seven touchdowns from 60-plus yards.
There’s probably more stuff, but you get the idea. Oh wait, one more. Barkley has run for more than 100 yards in 14 of the Eagles’ 19 games this season.
What he will try to do next is become the first player to run for more than 100 yards against the Chiefs for the first time in 18 straight playoff games. The last person to do that was Sony Michel, who had 113 yards and two touchdowns on 29 runs in a 37-31 KC win on Jan. 18, 2019. Michel also had the longest run of any running back over that span of 18 games with 33 yards in that game. He did none of the things Barkley did this year, though.
The last player to run for more than 100 yards against the Chiefs in the regular season was Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who ran 16 times for 122 yards in a 27-20 loss to KC in the season-opener.
"I don't think you can lose sight of Saquon, but the quarterback is the key to that offense," said Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. "He makes the right decisions, whether it's handing off to 26 (Barkley) or pulling it back. We gotta have our best game yet and we gotta play as well as a unit and as well as we ever had to be successful against this guy (Saquon)."
Barkey, who will turn 28 on Super Sunday, has never played against the Chiefs in his seven-year career.
If Barkley can top 100 yards, he would break Terrell Davis’ record most yards rushing in one season, including the playoffs. He needs just 30 yards to pass Davis’ total of 2,476 in 1998.
Rushing for more than 100 yards would increase the Eagles' chances of defeating Kansas City, too, and spoiling their bid to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls.
