FRISCO, Texas -- For the bulk of two-time Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley's seven-year NFL career, the first six of which were spent with the New York Giants, he shared a backfield with middling quarterback Daniel Jones while the Giants didn't have a top-flight receiver opposing defenses respected.
In his first season of a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, Barkley is running like a man unburdened. Hs has the fifth-most rushing yards, 925, in his first eight career games with a team all-time. That production has him on pace for 1,965 rushing yards, which would break LeSean McCoy's single-season Eagles record of 1,607 set back in 2013. Barkley is also averaging an NFL-best 133.9 scrimmage yards per game after racking up 199 -- 159 rushing on 27 carries and 40 receiving on three catches -- in a 28-23 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 9.
"Saquon's playing as well as I've seen him play," Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said on Wednesday in advance of facing the Eagles at AT&T Stadium on Sunday.
Three of Barkley's seven highest single-game rushing totals in his career have come in his first eight games as an Eagle, and he is averaging 2.5 yards before contract per rush, the third-most in the league among running backs this season. That's a massive departure from his 2023 yards before contact per rush average of one yard, which ranked 32nd among running backs last season.
Playing with a dual-threat quarterback that actually scares defenses in Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia's vaunted offensive line and two high-caliber receivers in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith has unlocked the last bit of Barkley's high-ceiling potential. That has the former Penn State star playing "peacefully" in the words Cowboys three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons, a fellow former PSU standout.
"It's his confidence, bro. Confidence in people are going to make the right blocks. He's just playing his reads. He's playing running back so peacefully," Parsons said Wednesday. "A lot of people doubted that he would have that success, but just like his rookie year [with Odell Beckham Jr. in 2018], you put the weapons outside of him, you can't stack the box against him. Let's be real. You're playing the Giants, you're putting eight in the box and saying, 'beat me with your weapons that you got.' Now that he got some help out here, it's been a night and day difference. Same thing with [Christian] McCaffrey [when he joined the San Francisco 49ers]. You can't stack that box. When those good backs get into those good systems, it's always good to see people get back to where they were at."
Not only has Barkley gotten back to his Giants prime, but he is doing things never seen before like hurdling over a defender backwards on Sunday against the Jaguars. It's impossible not to be drawn toward that type of player, which a reason why Barkley played a significant role in recruiting Parsons to Penn State in 2017. That was Barkley's last year of college and Parsons' last year of high school in Pennsylvania.
"That was tough. He's always been that exciting," Parsons said. "He was a big part of the reason I went to Penn State. He's just so exciting. [He was] kind of just preaching to me, you take the right steps and do the right things, good things can happen for you. It's been exciting to see what he's doing."
However, Parsons, who hasn't played since Week 4 because of a high ankle sprain, made it clear he didn't text Barkley after his highlight reel hurdle because the Eagles are visiting the Cowboys in Week 10.
"No, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. It's a rivalry. That's big bro, but he knows when it's game day, we ain't friends no more," Parsons said.
After a 2-2 start to the season that included Week 4 blowout loss at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, something has clicked for Philadelphia. They are now on a four-game winning streak in which Hurts has 12 total touchdowns and no turnovers and Barkley has an NFL-best 490 rushing yards since Week 6. Yet, Parsons doesn't think the Eagles' style of play has changed much over the course of the season.
"I wouldn't say they're doing anything differently," Parsons said. "I think they're trusting their system. They know they've got explosive guys. They can create explosive plays. They're doing a good job managing the clock. Jalen's doing a good job. They're still using Jalen's legs even though they've got Saquon. Obviously those outside pieces [Brown and Smith] are two of the most dynamic pieces in the NFL. I don't think they're doing anything different. I think this is the same Eagles team. But that Saquon Barkley factor is paying dividends for them."
Barkley certainly is a big play waiting to happen. His 12 runs of 15-plus yards are the second-most among running backs in the league. So how will a Cowboys defense that is allowing the third-most rushing yards per game (147.8) and averages the second-highest missed tackle rate (30.1%) in the NFL slow down their longtime NFC East rival? Have fundamentally sound tackling technique and pray.
"It's just attacking them legs. I know it's tough," Parsons said. "That's like a big brother to me, but you know at the end of the day, I know he's going to come with it. He knows I'm going to come with it. So it's going to be an exciting matchup."