Wild Stat Behind Saquon Barkley’s 65-Yard TD Vs. Giants

The story of the 2024 season for the Philadelphia Eagles was the play of running back Saquon Barkley.

He erupted in his first season in Philadelphia and logged over 2,000 rushing yards in the regular season in what will be known as one of the best overall seasons by a running back in NFL history. The 2025 season hasn't been as kind to Barkley, though.

Barkley entered Week 8's matchup against the New York Giants with 369 rushing yards on the season, good for 52.7 rushing yards per game. In comparison, he averaged 125.3 rushing yards per game last year and 68.7 rushing yards per game in his final season with the Giants in 2023.

With the Eagles missing AJ Brown on Sunday, it immediately seemed like the Week 8 matchup could be a good opportunity for Barkley to break out. It didn't take long for that to prove to be the case. The Eagles got the ball on offense to begin the matchup and Barkley took it to the house for a 65-yard touchdown on his very first carry of the game. Last year, Barkley had plenty of long carries, but not as many this season. He actually has just one other game on the season with more total rushing yards in a single game than the 65-yard rush and that was when he had 88 yards Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

See ya, @saquon 👋 pic.twitter.com/9bjActkYiR
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 26, 2025

Saquon Barkley immediately showed signs of a breakout on Sunday

Oct 19, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs the ball during the second half against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Barkley had 60 rushing yards Week 1, 88 yards in Week 2, 46 rushing yards in Week 3, 43 yards in Week 4, 30 yards in Week 5, 58 yards in Week 6 against the New York Giants, and 44 yards in Week 7 against the Minnesota Vikings.

How crazy is that?

Last year, Barkley averaged 125.3 rushing yards per game. But, his one 65-yard carry on his first rush of the day on Sunday actually game him his second-highest overall rushing total for a game on the season to this point There may not be another stat that shows how different the 2024 and 2025 seasons have been for the superstar back.

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