PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Eagles have dropped two straight, their offense looks lost, the defense is strained from carrying so much weight, and the city is in a mild panic wondering if this team is on the verge of its second collapse in three years.
Some coaches and players are beginning to wear the stress on their faces. The defending champs are banged up, frustrated and grinding through the kind of difficult season that often follows a championship run.
It's times like these when the value of a player and teammate like running back Saquon Barkley shines through.
"He's got the best energy, man," left tackle Jordan Mailata said. "Best energy, best juice, best vibes. He's so positive, even when it's raining... he's got the umbrella out for everybody. Such a special teammate, he is. I love him, man. Love that guy."
On the list of players who can save the season for Philadelphia, Barkley might be at the very top.
We've seen it before. It was Barkley who helped foster the paradigm shift as the wounded Eagles tried to regroup from their late-season tailspin in 2023. He was brought in on a three-year, $37.75 million free agent deal that March, and some of his new teammates acted like fans as they got a look at his jump-cuts and jukes firsthand.
His abilities were so pronounced that members of the offensive line knocked on coach Nick Sirianni's office during their Week 5 bye to urge him to lean into the ground game. Philadelphia closed the regular season winning 12 of 13 games on the back of the eventual Offensive Player of the Year, setting up its Super Bowl run. Barkley was so exceptional that stars such as A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith accepted lesser roles, knowing that riding the heater Barkley was on was the right thing to do.
He injected joy into the locker room and helped stabilize it, and he proved to be a salve for what was ailing them on the field.
It has been much tougher going this season. Barkley is on pace for 1,048 yards, almost half of the 2,005 he gained in 2024. His yards per rush have dropped from 5.8 (2nd in the NFL) to 3.7 (36th), and he has been held to 60 yards or less on the ground in 10 of 12 games.
A drastic turnaround might feel far-fetched, but notable improvement in the run game is attainable -- and remains the most likely catalyst should the Eagles go on another run, starting Monday night against the Los Angeles Chargers (8:15 ET, ESPN/ABC).
What's behind the dip in production?
"I say this in a humble way. I'm not trying to be ignorant," Barkley prefaced before their Week 12 game at the Dallas Cowboys. "If you come and play the Philadelphia Eagles and your mindset is not to stop us from running the football, then you probably should be fired."
In other words, when you are one of nine players ever to rush for 2,000-plus yards in a season, you're going to get extra attention.
Barkley is running into stacked boxes (8 or more defenders) 33.1% of the time this season, via NextGen Stats, compared to 20.6% last year. He is averaging just 2.3 yards per carry on those runs compared to 4.5 yards per carry against lighter boxes.
Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo explained that defenses are focused on taking away space, whether that's by putting more players at the line of scrimmage, blitzing off the edge or bringing linebackers up the middle. Barkley was a big-play machine in 2024 with 17 runs of 20-plus yards and seven that went 40 or more. Through 12 games this season, he has just two runs of 20-plus and one that went 40-plus.
The offensive line has played a role in that. Injuries to right tackle Lane Johnson, left guard Landon Dickerson and center Cam Jurgens over the course of the season have lowered the potency of a normally dominant front.
Add those factors with a level of predictability that has set in, according to some players and close observers, and you have the recipe for regression.
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How can it be fixed?
More designed runs for quarterback Jalen Hurts is a good starting point.
Consider: The Eagles average 182.3 rush yards per game (4.5 yards/rush) when Hurts has 10-plus rush attempts in a game compared to 135.1 when he has less than that, per ESPN Research.
Hurts had eight games last year with double-digit rushing attempts. That number has dipped to only two such games this season. The Eagles are 9-1 since last season when Hurts has 10-plus rush attempts in a game. They are 11-6 over that same span when he does not.
"I would like to see them do more [QB] runs, I'm not going to lie," former center Jason Kelce said on local Philly radio 94 WIP last week. "I think it will keep defenses honest even more so that when you're doing just a regular tailback run, those will be more effective. You get such better angles. The numbers are better. It makes life easy. It's almost like cheating. And it's been a big reason why the Eagles have been successful in the ground game throughout Hurts' tenure."
There have been multiple recent reports stating that Hurts does not love having a lot of designed runs in the game plan and didn't want to run as much this year. Hurts responded to those reports by saying he's "always been focused on doing whatever it takes to win, and I've always put my energy on trying to bring a game plan and a strategy that week to life, so I'll continue to do that."
There is no denying his numbers are down. Hurts is on pace for 119 rushes and 466 yards, which would be career lows since taking over as the full-time starter in 2021.
The Eagles had the benefit of a mini-bye following Friday's loss to the Chicago Bears to assess. It would be no surprise if they introduced more QB runs for the home stretch. The gravitational pull Hurts has as a runner has a tendency to open things up for Barkley.
Expect other wrinkles to emerge. Mailata allowed that the Eagles have "some new stuff in this week" for the Chargers game. The focus in the offensive line room has been about finishing blocks, execution and improving communication.
"I do think we know who we are up front and the identity in the run game," Mailata said. "But we've got to sprinkle some stuff in to get it going a little more."
The eventual return of Johnson, who has been sidelined with a Lisfranc sprain since mid-November, should help in getting the front back to its high-end form.
Dickerson said Barkley talks with the offensive line consistently every day, from in-unit meetings to in the middle of a drive during practice, to walk-throughs.
"He is a very detailed guy. He just wants what is best for the team and wants to make sure we're all setting ourselves up to try in get in the best play and run the best play possible," he said. "He does a tremendous job of just communicating what he sees and where he thinks the ball is going to hit, and then clarifying with us and making sure... we're all on the same page."
Is he the same guy?
There has been plenty of speculation about whether Barkley is feeling the effects after shattering his previous high of 436 rushing attempts last season. The explosive plays are way down and so are the reverse-hurdling-like highlights that captured national attention.
But there have been flashes in those rare moments when Barkley has found daylight where he shows that combination of quickness and power that reminds you of how dangerous he can be. On several occasions this season, Barkley has insisted he is the same player.
Barkley's rush yards over expected went from second in the NFL last year (546) to 29th going into Monday's game (17). That being said, the RB's top speed is virtually unchanged -- 21.87 this year, 21.93 last year, and last year's number was on a longer run according to NFL Next Gen Stats. It appears Barkley's speed is still there, but he's not getting the blocking he once did, while also not breaking and avoiding tackles at the rate he did in 2024.
Nothing has changed off the field, his teammates and coaches agree, even if "2K Sa" isn't running as wild this year -- offering hope that the work will eventually net the kind of results that seemed to come so easy a season ago.
"Yeah, he's the best," Sirianni said. "I love consistency, and he's the same person every single day, week in, week out, year to year. I think that's why his teammates, his coaches, everybody that comes in contact with him has the kind of respect that they have for him, because his consistency doesn't waiver based off of anything that happens on the field. It's about his process and about how he goes about his work. You love that out of your players."