NFL Legend Bill Belichick Opens Up About Eagles' Saquon Barkley

The Eagles certainly are lucky to have Barkley in town

Jan 12, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) reacts against the Green Bay Packers in the fourth quarter in an NFC wild card game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Eagles are one win away from a trip to the Super Bowl.

If you had said this would be the case at the end of last season, some would be surprised. Philadelphia was one of the best teams in football for the first 12 weeks of the 2023 NFL season but fell apart down the stretch and then lost early in the playoffs.

Things didn't go as planned but the Eagles' front office didn't sit around and just hope things would fix themselves. The Eagles were aggressive in free agency and it has led to success on the field. The top move of the offseason surely was the addition of Saquon Barkley. He became the ninth running back in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in the regular. Barkley has been an absolute game-changer and is coming off yet another 200-yard performance in the Divisional Round.

Barkley is one of the biggest reasons why the Eagles are in the position that they are in right now. It's tough to plan for him and NFL legend and current University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill head coach Bill Belichick opened up about how to possibly stop him on "The Pat McAfee Show."

"I don't think it's scheme, but I think the most important thing is secondary tackling," Belichick said. "Like we saw last week against the Rams, they hit three long runs: one by (Jalen Hurts) and two the safeties were just unable to make a tackle...You can't give up any long runs to him. He's going to get some seven, eight, 10-yarders, but it's the 60, 70-yarders that are back-breaking.

"He's definitely a hard guy to stop but I think tackling is the No. 1 issue with him, particularly in the secondary...They're a hard offense to stop. They've got a great offensive line and are well-coached. They are very good. I think what Washington wants to do is make Hurts beat them and not let Barkley beat them. That's easier said than done."

Hopefully, the Commanders don't find the solution on Sunday and Barkley continues to thrive.

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