Saquon Barkley has certainly had his share of not finishing touchdown runs this season. Barkley has nine runs this season which ended up at the 1-yard line -- by far the most the the NFL.
The irony of Barkley's runs that ended just shy of pay dirt? He has not scored a rushing touchdown after any of those plays.
Barkley does have eight rushing touchdowns this season, but could have more. The Philadelphia Eagles have one of the biggest advantages in football with the "tush push," a play that has contributed to eight of 11 of Jalen Hurts' touchdown runs this season.
Do the Eagles worry about taking touchdown runs away from Barkley?
"You always think about that," said Eagles coach Nick Sirianni. "I think one thing we think about a lot in the red zone -- without giving out too much information -- a quarterback sneak, it's tough to lose yardage there.
"So when you come out, the worst thing you can do in red zone football is move backwards. That's one the worst things that can happen there and put you behind the sticks. You always want to stay ahead of the sticks because things get harder and tighter down there as you move down in there."
Hurts has eight touchdowns from a yard out this season, and 30 of his 52 career rushing touchdowns in the regular season have been from 1 yard out.
"We've had a lot of success with the quarterback sneak," Sirianni said. "Jalen has scored a lot of touchdowns. ... That's probably the best way I can say that. Saquon has done a great job."
Barkley doesn't have any incentives in his contract based on touchdowns this season, a direct result of how the "tush push" changes the dynamic of the Eagles offense at the goal line. Barkley has 1,137 rushing yards and is averaging 5.8 yards per carry this season, as his 113.7 rushing yards per game lead the NFL.
The Eagles are getting a sensational season out of Barkley, even if the touchdowns aren't a higher number due to the "tush push."
"He's getting us down there, yes. He's got eight touchdowns, and [we're] excited for him on that," Sirianni said. "He's playing at a high, high level. But I think Saquon is a great teammate."
