PHILADELPHIA -- When Jalen Hurts scored his third rushing touchdown in Sunday's win over the Cincinnati Bengals, there was one person who was getting the football.
Saquon Barkley got to the 1-yard line on an impressive 17-yard run that set up another "tush push" score for the Philadelphia Eagles. Barkley did his job, and Jalen Hurts wanted to reward him for it.
"He said spike that [explicit]," Barkley said with a laugh. "I'm not cursing. He handed it to me and I never spiked the ball before. I was like ah! and just did it."
Hurts wanted Barkley to celebrate the touchdown, after having another score taken away via the "tush push." The play is practically unstoppable, as the Eagles have converted the "tush push" over 84% of the time this season -- and 88% last season.
Six points is six points. This is how Barkley views it.
"Obviously I want the touchdown. I'm not gonna say I don't wanna score. I want to score," Barkley said. "Whether it's me scoring, Jalen scoring, just finding ways to get in the end zone. That's the way to win football games.
"With all these analytics, I know one thing that is 100%. You score more points than the other team, you're gonna win football games."
Hurts' touchdown numbers have immensely benefited from the "tush push." The Eagles quarterback leads the entire NFL with 45 rushing touchdowns since the start of the 2021 season and has 28 career 1-yard rushing touchdowns -- all since the start of that 2021 season.
Hurts has double the amount of 1-yard rushing touchdowns over the next-highest player (Jamaal Williams has 14). His 28 1-yard rushing touchdowns is the most through a player's first five seasons in NFL history. Terry Allen is second with 27 and LaDainian Tomlinson is third with 26.
Barkley even discussed reaching out to Tomlinson about finishing runs.
"He was really good," Barkley said. 'It's an art, you know? You get in the red zone, it's tough to run the ball. It's tighter and he was the best at it at finding ways to get in the end zone."
Whether it's Barkley getting the touchdown or Hurts, he's become a big fan of the "tush push" now that he's on the Eagles' side of the play.
"Everybody knows it's coming. Everybody knows what's going on and you can't stop it," Barkley said. "Every team can't do it. There's a reason why Philly has been so good at it the last couple years.
"So I look at it more of that as a statement. When you're on the 1-yard line and you know it's coming, can you stop it? Some have success at it, but more times than not we have success at it."
As for never spiking the football, Barkley will continue to go unhinged in that department. He's one to just hand the football to the official than go unplanned when he does get his touchdown.
"My celebration is like from joy," Barkley said. "I might run around or something like that, but that's because I'm like a kid playing a game.
"Act like you've been there before. That has been my mindset, that still is my mindset."
