Saquon Barkley tries for another dominant effort in Eagles' home opener against Atlanta

Updated Sep. 12, 2024 12:57 p.m. ET

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley stole the show in his Philadelphia Eagles debut.

He gave the offense the credible, every-down back the franchise craved. He may have given his old team, the Giants, a few sleepless nights. Barkley’s three-touchdown effort sealed a few fantasy football victories, too.

So will Barkley repeat the feat Monday night against Atlanta?

If the total offensive numbers come again — 109 yards rushing, and he scored on an 18-yard catch and on runs of 11 and 2 yards — Barkley might have to rack them up on fewer plays.

The $26 million running back shouldn’t necessarily expect 26 total touches (24 carries, two receptions) like he had in his stellar opener in the Eagles’ win over the Green Bay Packers in Brazil.

Coach Nick Sirianni wants to keep Barkley fresh for the stretch run, which could mean less impact now in exchange for a heavier load in December and beyond.

Unless, of course, the Eagles really need him to pull out a win.

“You do everything you can do to win each football game, and so once the game is in the flow, you think about how you’re going to win that game,” Sirianni said.

Philly sports fans surely remember the dreaded “load management” phrase popularized by the 76ers’ attempt at cushioning oft-injured center Joel Embiid’s workload. The Eagles might not necessarily go that far — their backup options are Kenneth Gainwell and Will Shipley — during a game, but Sirianni said there are ways during the week the Eagles can limit how they use Barkley.

“With Saquon having that many touches, we’ll have a plan for that this week in practice where we can take some of the load off him there,” Sirianni said.

After six straight losing seasons, the Falcons were beaten 18-10 by the Pittsburgh Steelers in their opener. One small bright spot, the defense kept the Steelers out of the end zone, usually a formula for victory.

Trying to do it again against Jalen Hurts and his group of elite receivers is tough enough. Trying to keep Hurts and Barkley out of the end zone just might be an impossible task.

The Eagles are eager to see what Barkley does in the second game.

“He’s done an excellent job, and we’ll be able to diversify it as we go,” Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said. “Week in and week out, we can adjust the game plans and we’ll play different styles depending on how the opponent wants to play us. He’ll provide us with that opportunity.”

Cousins, take two

Playing in a game for the first time in more than 10 months, Kirk Cousins struggled mightily in his Atlanta debut.

Hardly what the Falcons expected from a quarterback who received a four-year, $180-million contract in free agency that includes $100 million in guaranteed money.

Coach Raheem Morris made it clear that the offense was the biggest problem against the Steelers. Cousins looked shaky in the pocket, threw two interceptions and finished with just 155 yards passing on 16 of 26 completions.

Most notably, he failed to take advantage of two of his biggest playmakers. Tight end Kyle Pitts did catch a 12-yard touchdown pass but finished with just three receptions for 26 yards. Even worse, top outside threat Drake London was targeted only three times, making two catches for 15 yards.

“We played what I thought was winning football in two phases of the game, and we didn’t play winning football in our offensive phase of the game. That’s just the truth of the matter,” Morris said. “It wasn’t good enough. We threw two interceptions. We’ve got to make better decisions in the passing game all around.”

Not done yet

Brandon Graham still has a lot left in the tank.

Graham's first snap in the opener made him the first Eagle to ever start a 15th season. He was tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik (14, 1949-62). Graham also has the record for the most regular-season games played (196) in franchise history.

The 36-year-old defensive end played 32 snaps against the Packers — one more than second-year edge rusher Nolan Smith and two more than defensive end Bryce Huff. Huff signed a three-year, $51 million free-agent deal in the offseason.

Graham could expect a similar workload against the Falcons.

“Brandon is still a good player, and I’ve told him several times, he’s not on any ceremonial last-year retirement parade," defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “He’s going to play. He’s still playing good.”

Jarrett returns

One Atlanta player who didn’t look rusty at all in Week 1 was Grady Jarrett.

Coming back from a season-ending knee injury, the longtime stalwart of Atlanta’s defensive front picked right up where he left off.

Jarrett had 1 1/2 sacks and three quarterback hits, becoming the franchise leader in the latter category with 117 for his career to surpass John Abraham’s 115.

“I know I’m back,” Jarrett said. “I put a lot of work in, zero doubt in my mind. I’m ready to go. I’m just excited to have a great year and contribute to this team the best I can.”

Tush push woes

The tush push is still alive in Philly.

Alive and well? Not so much, at least not after an opening victory where the tush push was unsuccessful on at least two attempts and there was some miscommunication between Hurts and center Cam Jurgens on other plays.

The play goes like this: Hurts lines up under center with two or three players behind him. He takes the snap, the offensive line surges forward and Hurts gets a big push from behind.

The Eagles converted the play about 93% of the time each of the past two seasons. Jason Kelce, the burly center who anchored the play, retired. Jurgens took over at center and the play — the offensive line as a whole — underwent early growing pains.

“I was pleased with the way we were getting some push on some of them,” Sirianni said. “We have some things to clean up.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

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