Overview
- Barkley acknowledged he is in a “funk” after a 22-yard outing vs. Dallas and sits at 684 rushing yards on 3.7 yards per carry through 12 weeks.
- Nick Sirianni defended Barkley’s explosiveness and kept Kevin Patullo on play-calls despite offensive struggles.
- Injuries and inconsistency up front have cut Barkley’s yards before contact from 3.8 last season to 2.3, with defenses using eight-plus in the box 32.4% of the time compared with 20.6% in 2024.
- Backup Tank Bigsby has been highly efficient in limited work, prompting outside calls for a larger role without any announced change in the depth chart.
- Jalen Hurts has just 18 designed runs in 11 games per PFF, a sharp drop from prior seasons, and Barkley was listed with a groin injury as limited ahead of the Week 13 game against the Bears.