Eagles’ Saquon Barkley reveals his favorite play of season, admits he initially forgot about a signature move

NEW ORLEANS — Saquon Barkley has turned in a season for the ages in his first year with the Philadelphia Eagles, which may be the best individual season for any player in NFL history with a Super Bowl victory. Through all the 100-yard games and 60-plus-yard runs Barkley has this season, the Eagles running back was asked which one play stood out in Year 1 with the Eagles.

Barkley had an answer, but then quietly remembered one of the most memorable plays of the season. He had a smile on his face  after recalling the moment. 

“I wanna say the snow touchdown against the Rams,” Barkley said. “But then I forget I jumped over someone backwards.”

Perhaps Barkley forgot about the backwards hurdle because he accomplished it before. On a November night in 2016 against Iowa, Barkley used a reverse hurdle to elude Iowa defensive back Brandon Snyder in a 41-14 blowout victory over the Hawkeyes. The hurdle had the Beaver Stadium crowd in awe, one of the ultimate highlight plays Barkley has created over the last decade. 

Was that a better backwards hurdle than the one Barkley converted for the Eagles? 

“It wasn’t as cool,” Barkley said back when he made the move in November. “I guess you could say.”

Barkley’s backwards hurdle is just a microcosm of the dominant season he’s having in Philadelphia. He has seven touchdown runs of 60-plus yards this season (including playoffs), an NFL record for a season and three more than the next-highest player. Three touchdown runs of 60-plus yards have come in the postseason, a feat no other player has accomplished in an entire playoff career. 

Barkley also has 2,760 yards from scrimmage, 3 shy of passing Davis for most in a season in league history (including playoffs). Barkley and Davis are the only players in NFL history to have 400-plus rushing yards and five-plus rushing touchdowns in a single postseason. Barkley is also 138 yards away from passing Darren Sproles (2,897) for most all-purpose yards in a single season (including playoffs).

Of course, Barkley had 2,005 rushing yards on the season — the ninth player in NFL history to reach that mark. He also has 442 rushing yards in three postseason games (100+ in each game), along with five touchdown runs. Barkley has 2,047 rushing yards — 30 shy of passing Terrell Davis (2,476) for the all-time mark. 

This just demonstrates the sensational season Barkley is having in Philadelphia, when the running back quietly forgets the ultimate highlight play for his position. All Barkley has to do is cap off this season with a Super Bowl title. 

“That’s the most important part, right? The fact I’m so close to breaking all these records, but none of this matters now unless we win the Super Bowl,” Barkley said. “If I’m able to do all this, man, it would be super special. Makes it extra special for what we were able to accomplish as a team.”