The Eagles RB spoke to reporters after the Week 3 win and talked about Jalen Hurts, Dallas Goedert, and the defense stepping up big time.
The Eagles squeaked out a win in New Orleans on Sunday, and after three quarters of a mistake-filled offense, the team finally pulled it together in the fourth quarter. Saquon Barkley spoke after the game, and admitted that DeVonta Smith’s scary injury was a bit of a catalyst for the rest of the matchup.
“Obviously, the game wasn’t going our way, but we never gave up. We kept trusting each other, kept grinding. We saw our teammate go down with a late hit, which I believe, and we rallied behind that. We wanted to go out there and grind out for [DeVonta Smith], and all phases, especially defense, played lights out and we found a way to make plays at the end on offense, and come out with a win.”
He later said that seeing Smith get injured and stay down on the field was really tough, especially knowing how hard the receiver works every day.
“The thing we did right after that, we locked in and said let’s trust each other and get this done from Smitty. Sometimes it just works like that.”
Barkley talked about his 65-yard touchdown run, noting he saw that he had one-high and knew he had space to run around, and credited the offensive line for blocking perfectly. The RB quipped that against Green Bay he should’ve gone right and he would have two long TDs so far this season, but he used that as a learning experience, and made it happen this week.
Coming off their Week 2 loss to the Falcons, Barkley said that nothing changed for them at practice, they just trusted the process and got back to work. They know that games like that will happen, and while everyone else might think the world is ending, they just kept trusting each other and had each others backs.
He also talked about Tyler Steen and Fred Johnson who came in for Mekhi Becton and Lane Johnson, and said that the backup lineman did a great job. Barkley pointed out that Jeff Stoutland is hard on those guys, but it makes them ready anytime their number is called. The RB also said that Cam Jurgens, Landon Dickerson, and Jordan Mailata also deserve credit for stepping up and making sure the communication was where it needed to be.
Barkley had a lot of praise for quarterback Jalen Hurts and how he responded to a rough three quarters to start the game.
“He’s the most poised human being I’ve ever been around in my life. [Jalen Hurts] doesn’t get flustered. Never too high, never too low. And, to be honest, only being around him for however many months, I’ve learned a lot from him as a player, and as a man too. He’s the leader of this team.
Obviously, those turnovers aren’t what you want to happen, but that happens part of the game, but it’s all about how you respond. And, he responded with a two-minute drive down the field, making a big play to Dallas [Goedert], and Dallas running his butt off, and we found a way to get in the endzone.”
He later admitted that leaving the Falcons game, they all felt like they could’ve gotten the ball into Goedert’s hands a little bit more, and the TE stepped up big for them against the Saints. Barkley said with a big smile that it makes his job a lot easier near the endzone when Goedert makes a catch and runs 70 yards with it.
The RB also talked about the defense bouncing back from last week’s loss to the Falcons, and how they worked hard to be better prepared for the Saints. He said the ability to bounce back for any player or any position is going to be important, because it’s a long season and they’re all going to have moments they want back.
Barkley said the important thing for the Eagles now is to approach this upcoming week the same way they handled last week coming off a loss. He explained that this Week 3 game could’ve very easily ended in another loss, so they need to attack practice and their preparation with the same mentality they did after losing to Atlanta.
