PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) – It wasn’t a come-to-Jesus moment. There was no ultimatum.
But during the Philadelphia Eagles’ bye week earlier this season, key members of the offensive line went to Nick Sirianni with some feedback: It was time to start running the ball more, and they delivered their reasoning in no uncertain terms.
“A lot of it was, we got Saquon f***ing Barkley back there,” said right tackle Lane Johnson, who was joined by left tackle Jordan Mailata and left guard Landon Dickerson in approaching Sirianni. “Let’s give him the f***ing ball.”
Succinct and emphatic. Could you blame the O-linemen for their pitch?
At that point of the season, the Eagles were an uninspiring 2-2. They had nipped out wins against the Packers and Saints, with a late loss to the Falcons sandwiched in between. The Eagles’ final game before the bye was a blowout defeat at Tampa.
Emerging as a throughline, however, was the dynamic contributions of Barkley, the Eagles’ marquee offseason pick-up. He topped 100 all-purpose yards during each of the Eagles’ first four games, reaching triple-digits on the ground twice.
While the Eagles were well-versed in Barkley’s capabilities from his six previous years in the NFC East with the Giants, having him on their side was a different experience.
“It’s smash-mouth football,” Johnson said. “That’s what we do every day — we come to work, hitting bags. I’ve been doing that for the past 12 years, so I like [running the ball].”
Despite Barkley’s success to start the year, the Eagles’ play-calling initially favored the pass.
The offensive linemen felt that if Sirianni and new coordinator Kellen Moore leaned into Barkley and the running game, the pivot would open up the rest of the Eagles’ scheme.
“You run a lot during the game, then you can mix it up with play-action [passing],” said Johnson. “It just makes the whole game so much easier.”
“I just want to f***ing win, simple as that,” Dickerson said. “Whatever it takes to win.”
The Eagles’ subsequent four-game winning streak, during which Barkley’s rushing has taken center stage, has validated the teammates’ hunch. But for as much as the players deserve credit for pursuing this pivot, so too does Sirianni for implementing it.
And as The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane lays out in a new edition of the “unCovering the Birds” podcast, maybe there’s even more we should be giving Sirianni props for.
Plus, Grant Calcaterra joins the podcast for this week’s Pick Six segment. He and McLane talk about the tight end being a triplet, his brief retirement from football, and the journey back.
“unCovering the Birds” is a production of The Philadelphia Inquirer and KYW Newsradio Original Podcasts. Look for new episodes each week during the regular season. Follow on the free Audacy app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you listen to podcasts.