Rested and ready. They may be the best two words to describe Eagles running Saquon Barkley. The first-team All-Pro doesn’t watch from the sidelines unless he’s injured, but he was healthy last week when the Eagles chose to rest him
The decision cost him a shot at breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record set in 1984. Needing just 101 yards to break, Barkley most certainly would have done it against a New York Giants team that won just three games. All year.
The Eagles chose rest over record, and we will see how fresh Barkley is on Sunday when the Green Bay Packers visit Lincoln Financial Field for a wildcard playoff game.
"Any time you can get rest and let your body recover a little bit, it definitely helps," he said, "but it’s a good thing because we were able to put ourselves in a position where we were able to rest and get ourselves prepared for this run,” said Barkley. “The focus goes to Green Bay and the week of preparation that we’ve had. I think we’ve had a great week of preparation up to this point.”
Barkley shouldn’t be alone in the rested and ready group after the Eagles played their backups and still beat the hapless Giants, 20-13.
Think Lane Johnson, who will be 35 in May, didn’t enjoy the rest?
Or the Eagles’ banged-up receiving group of A.J. Brown (knee) and DeVonta Smith (back)?
Barkley had carried the ball 345 times this season, which was 44 more rushes than the Packers’ Josh Jacobs had. Think Barkley didn’t enjoy the rest? Even though he wasn’t given a shot to break Dickerson’s record, he enjoyed himself watching the reserves beat the Giants.
“It was fun,” he said. “That’s what it’s about, seeing those guys that may not get the shine and the love that’s needed throughout the season. But the reason why myself and all the other stars are able to go out there and perform on a high level is because of the depth that we have on this team.
“I think it was cool that – I don’t really believe in 1s and 2s – but the backups were able to go out there and get a big win against a division opponent. That put us at 14 wins, and keep the momentum going, and hopefully that carries over into the playoffs.”
