Not. Great.
Since the moment news dropped that Saquon Barkley was signing with the Eagles, everyone has waited with bated breath to see the RB on the field with this offense. The Eagles defense forced the Packers to punt the first drive of Friday night’s international game, and then Barkley and the offense took the field.
Jalen Hurts got the snap from Cam Jurgens, turned and pitched the ball to Barkley to his left, who immediately tried to take a step but instead slipped and fell on his front for a loss of five yards.
Saquon Barkley’s first carry as a member of the Eagles is a 5-yard loss after slipping. pic.twitter.com/PaQjztR8vY
— Doug Rush (@TheDougRush) September 7, 2024
The slippery field conditions were reported ahead of the game, and players had to decide which cleats to wear after warmups. Didn’t seem to matter much, Barkley was hardly the only player sliding, even Packers QB Jordan Love lost his footing several plays later.
Not only did Barkley’s big debut fall flat, but Hurts followed it with a too-high pass to A.J. Brown, and then a wildly underthrown pass to DeVonta Smith that was intercepted by Green Bay. That was it. That was what we’ve all been waiting for.
The Eagles offensive starters didn’t play in the preseason, but this drive did not do much to install a whole lot of confidence. Their second drive didn’t fare much better, and Jurgens snapped the ball to soon resulting in yet another turnover. Two for two. Great.
