Because he was pretty busy blocking during the play when it happened live, Eagles veteran right tackle Lane Johnson didn’t get a good look at Saquon Barkley’s ridiculous backwards hurdle until he got into the winning locker room.
“How the f--- did he see him?” Johnson said.
Good question.
Barkley ended up with 199 scrimmage yards in the Eagles’ 28-23 too-close-for-comfort win over the Jaguars at the Linc on Sunday. But the biggest topic in the winning locker room was about witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime play.
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“God has blessed Saquon with some special things,” Jalen Hurts said. “I really genuinely pray he continues to use those things and the fullness of him and give him the glory with that because there's special stuff he's capable of doing. So we just need him to continue to be that type of player.”
Early in the second quarter, Hurts hit Barkley in the flat for what ended up being one of the most miraculous 14-yard gains you’ll ever see. Barkley ran through one tackle, spun around another and then somehow finished the play by hurdling yet another player backside first.
“It’s probably the best football play I have ever seen or will ever see,” tight end Grant Calcaterra said.
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THE 180 HURDLE??? DID SAQUON JUST INVENT THIS?!
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“It was the best play I've ever seen,” head coach Nick Sirianni agreed.
Sirianni said he gave Barkley a game ball after Sunday’s game.
“What I think is so cool, is there are going to be kids all over the country and all over Philadelphia — I really think about that — trying to make that play and talking about that play and simulating that play as they play backyard football or Pee Wee Football,” Sirianni said. “They aren’t going to be able to make it because I think he's the only one in the world that can do that.
“I’m speechless. It was unbelievable, and the way the crowd — when I looked up, like I thought I saw what I saw. As a coach you're looking at the line sometimes, looking at the secondary, looking at the defense. And so, I thought I saw it, but when I looked up at the big screen and the crowd reacted to it, it was unbelievable. I can't say enough about how athletic he is.”
Fellow running back Will Shipley said that after the play happened, his eyes were glued on the big screen at the Linc. He couldn’t wait to see it again.
“I don’t think anyone has seen someone do that,” Shipley said. “Just shows how special he is again. He does it week in and week out. I’m never surprised by it. That’s just who he is. If you’re out there being surprised every week, stop being surprised. He’s going to continue to do it.”
It wasn’t just offensive players who were in awe of the play. Josh Sweat was on the sideline getting ready for the next defensive series and had to remind himself he wasn’t there to hang out and watch Barkley.
“I ain’t gonna lie,” Sweat said with a chuckle, “I felt like a fanboy for a quick second. I had to snap back to who I was but I was like, ‘Yeah, that was crazy.’”
Even without the backwards hurdle, the run was still highlight-worthy. But the hurdle put it over the top.
“I’ve never in my life ever seen a man do that,” safety Sydney Brown said. “I don’t know if you saw the reverse spin move he did before, that was impressive on its own. I don’t even know how you plan that in your head. I don’t even know how you think of that. I’ve never seen a man jump that high at the weight he is and the size he is. It was just incredible. It was probably one of the best plays I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Believe it or not, this is not the first time Barkley has pulled off the backwards hurdle in his football career. He did it as a sophomore at Penn State against Iowa. “But it wasn’t as cool,” he said.
Barkley finished Sunday’s game with 159 rushing yards on 27 attempts and 40 yards on three catches. He had a touchdown on the ground and another through the air. His output of 199 scrimmage yards was the third-highest in his NFL career.
Through eight games, Barkley already has 1,071 scrimmage yards and eight touchdowns. He’s just the third Eagle to reach 1,000 yards in eight games, joining LeSean McCoy (2011, 2013) and Brian Westbrook (2007).
But it wasn’t a perfect game for Barkley on Sunday. He brought up a few plays he’d like to have back. Barkley had a costly fumble, a red zone drop and made a bad decision to go down too soon on a key second-down run in the fourth quarter.
Credit him for owning up to his mistakes and wanting to fix them.
But the rest of his teammates just wanted to talk about that insane play a little more.
“Crazy,” DeVonta Smith said. “I ain’t never seen nothing like it.”
So … really. How the heck did he do that?
“Gotta give credit to God there,” Barkley said. “I ain’t gonna lie. I feel like, not in a cocky way, I do believe God blessed me. He blessed all of us but I feel like he gave me an ability to play this position and gave me some instincts. Sometimes you gotta let go, let God and let your instincts take over.”
