Saquon Barkley leads a resurgent Philadelphia offense into Cincinnati on Sunday as the Eagles visit the Bengals in a matchup of two teams on the rise.
Barkley earned NFC offensive player of the week honors with 176 yards rushing on 17 carries with a touchdown in a 28-3 rout of his former team, the New York Giants, last weekend in New Jersey.
Barkley ranks third in the NFL with 658 rushing yards, trailing only the Baltimore Ravens’ Derrick Henry (873) and the San Francisco 49ers’ Jordan Mason (667).
Barkley’s total is the most ever by a Philadelphia running back through six games. He has three games of at least 100 yards rushing this season and is second in rushing yards per game (109.7), trailing only Henry (124.7).
“Body feels great, ready to go,” Barkley said. “In this league, you don’t hold onto games. I’m extremely critical of myself and I analyze myself as hard as anyone, and when it’s over and you review the game, you have to move on. We’ve got Cincinnati next and that’s going to be a physical game against a very good defense.”
The defense for Cincinnati (3-4) has stepped it up in the last two weeks, allowing just 21 points total in road wins over the Giants and Browns. They also held running backs Henry, Tyrone Tracy and Nick Chubb in check since getting their full complement of defensive linemen back healthy over the last two weeks.
“He’s very, very elusive and still strong when he runs, too, which is why he’s a great back,” Cincinnati defensive end Joseph Ossai said. “He’s not just a shifty back who relies mainly on elusiveness. He can also stick his foot in the ground, run through you and be elusive. And soon as his feet hit the ground, he’s still running and he’s going vertical and doing what he needs to do. So, we need to get 11 hats on the ball, and that will take care of that.”
Philadelphia’s defense has not allowed a touchdown in back-to-back games, a feat not achieved since the 2017 season. It’s the longest streak in the NFL since New England turned the trick in the first three games of the 2019.
Philadelphia (4-2) is also just the fourth NFL defense since 2000 to record at least five sacks while allowing 250 or fewer yards and no offensive touchdowns in consecutive games, joining the 2019 Patriots, 2014 Rams and 2000 Saints.
Cincinnati had a player garner weekly honors as well. Charlie Jones was named the AFC special teams player of the week with his 100-yard kickoff return against the Browns to open the game. Jones joined Lemar Parrish as the only players in franchise history with both a punt return and kickoff return for a touchdown.
“I thought that was a critical play in the game,” Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor said. “We didn’t score in the first half on offense, so to have the 7-6 lead because of a big special teams play allowed us just to hang in and finally find our groove in the third quarter. It was really the play of the game, ultimately.”
“That’s what you have to do,” Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said. “Great teams find ways to win. I think we have a chance to be a great team. We’re not that yet, but there’s a lot of season left to play.”
The Bengals hope to have Tee Higgins on Sunday after the wide receiver appeared on Friday’s injury report with a quad issue. Higgins, whose 29 catches and 341 receiving yards are both second on the team, was limited in Friday’s practice.
Safety Geno Stone (shin) and starting left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (right knee) likely will play for Cincinnati this week despite sustaining injuries against Cleveland.
Eagles starting right guard Mekhi Becton is out with a concussion, while tight end Dallas Goedert will miss a second straight game due to a hamstring injury. Philadelphia placed backup defensive tackle Byron Young (hamstring) on injured reserve Friday.
The Bengals have never lost to the Eagles in Cincinnati, going 4-0-1.
