It's All About The "Snow" Shoes For Eagles Superstar Running Back

PHILADELPHIA – Snow is coming to South Philly for Sunday’s Eagles-Rams Divisional Round playoff game. When and how much? We’ll see. Saquon Barkley isn’t leaving anything to chance. Philly’s All-Pro running back is listening to any advice on what his footwear for the day will be.

“I was stubborn in (Brazil against) Green Bay,” said the 2,000-yard runner. “The first two, three plays I slipped and fell on my head, so whatever they advise, I’ll be taking their advice.”

The running game could be a big factor if Mother Nature butts her nose into the game. We saw that with LeSean McCoy in the blizzard game of 2013 when he ran for a then-team record 217 yards against the Detroit Lions during the regular season, seemingly getting stronger as the snow picked up in intensity. Barkley said he may even reach out to McCoy.

“I know all about (the 2013 game),” he said. “…Even watching Shady (McCoy), his highlights, it was one of his most memorable games … I’m definitely gonna call Shady, if we do get some snow, and see what he did because it doesn’t make sense how he was able to cut in that snow. You can see he was just on a whole different level.”

The running back on the other side is pretty good, too, with the Rams’ Kyren Williams, who finished seventh in the league in rushing with 1,299 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns during the regular season.

He had 72 yards rushing in his last meeting against the Eagles’ top-ranked defense on Nov. 24. Nowhere near Barkley’s total of 255.

“At the end of the day, if it’s snow or rain, sleet, whatever it is, if we don’t go out there and we don’t execute when you go against great teams like who we’re playing in the divisional playoffs, you’re gonna set yourself for an outcome you don’t want,” Barkley said. “Whether it’s 100 degrees or 10 degrees, if we go out there and execute the game plan … we’re going to be alright. So I don’t think it’s an advantage one way or the other. The advantage goes to the people who execute their game plan.”

If Barkley comes anywhere near 255 again, Eagles win and host next week’s NFC Championship Game against the Washington Commanders.

“They’re a way better team than they were on defense, from my opinion, and watching film on them, you can see how much they improved,” said Barkley. “They’re playing great on that side of the football right now, so we know it’s going to be a challenge. When you rush for over 300 yards against a team, they’re going to something, have some type of game plan to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

“Our mindset is to execute our game plan, not just against this team but throughout the season. If we go out there, run our stuff, and execute our game plan, we’ll put ourselves in position to be successful.”

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