September 21, 2026
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect/USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Saquon Barkley had to leave a big hit by Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. He's getting used to getting hit.
The very first offensive play for the Eagles told a story of the past and future.
Saquon Barkley took the handoff from Jalen Hurts as the offensive line and inline tight ends tried to generate push against the Titans' defensive front, a simple inside run the Eagles have executed countless times.
With no hole to find, Barkley tried a two-footed cut to bide time for a hole, then bounced to his left when none opened, but ultimately ran smack dab into the back of Lane Johnson, who was being driven back by John Franklin-Myers, and then collapsed underneath a tackle from Jeffery Simmons for no gain – except one painful shoulder stinger that sidelined him the rest of the first half.
Barkley tried to gut gut through the injury after halftime, but exited again, and managed just nine yards on four carries in the game. His backups, Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley, didn't fare much better, with Bigsby limited to 2.5 yards per carry on 13 totes, and Shipley just 24 yards on seven carries.
In total, Eagles running backs supplied 65 rushing yards on 24 carries, a dismal 2.7 yards every time they took a handoff against a Titans defense that the Jets gashed in Week 1 for 152 yards on the ground.
In Week 1 against the Commanders, a 42-yard Barkley run inflated what was really another below-average showing on the ground, as Barkley picked up just only 41 yards on his other 14 carries.
We are now one full season and two more weeks removed from the historic 2024 campaign of the Eagles' offensive line opening holes so massive that Barkley piled up an NFL-most 2,005 rushing yards and a Super Bowl run that saw him accrue the most combined rushing yards ever in a single season and postseason.
Barkley eclipsed 100 rushing yards 14 times in the 20 games he played that year; he has since rushed for more than 100 yards just four times in the ensuing 19 games.
Getting hurt on the first Eagles play from scrimmage, a basic inside zone run, seems to be a cautionary tale for what could lie ahead if the Birds don't figure out how to get their groove back on the ground.
The run game is supposed to be the starting point of the offense. Through two weeks, they average just 3.95 yards per run, 17th in the NFL, and that's inflated by Jalen Hurts scrambles. Eagles running backs so far average 3.71 yards per carry.
"I don't know," Johnson said after the Eagles averaged 2.8 yards per carry against the Titans. "I don't know it's just landmarks, if it's – I gotta go back and watch the film. It's really tough to say right after a game. There's a lot to clean up. We really didn't have any big explosive gains in the run game, it was mostly through the air."
Covered up by Hurts' thrilling 65-yard touchdown drive on the Eagles' last possession for the 24-20 win was the Eagles were again terrible on first down, mainly because of a stagnant run game that couldn't find any holes.
They needed every bit of Hurts heroism from the opening drive until the Darius Cooper game-winning touchdown catch with nine seconds left on the clock to avoid a colossal meltdown.
The Eagles averaged 4.0 yards on first down against the Titans, and just 3.2 yards on first-down runs. Take away two Hollywood Brown end-arounds and the they averaged only 2.5 yards on first-down runs.
On the flip side, eight of their 10 longest gains against Tennessee came on 3rd-and-5 or longer.
The Philadelphia Eagles have the largest difference in early down offensive success rate vs. late down offensive success rate to start a season since 2022, per @SumerSports
— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) September 20, 2026
Early downs: 31.5% (3rd percentile)
Late downs: 60.6% (96th percentile)
Complicating their struggle is a modified offensive line that has center Cam Jurgens moved to left guard for the first time in his life and backup Drew Kendall in at center while Landon Dickerson misses at least three more games on injured reserve, and that Dickerson has been injured or playing through pain since the end of the 2024 season and hasn't resembled his Pro Bowl form since 2024.
Jurgens said he was informed at the start of last week that he'd make his left guard debut against the Titans, as the Eagles tried to find the best combination possible up front.
"I feel like I'm going to learn a lot from this game," Jurgens said after taking his turn on a sweltering afternoon battling, often unsuccessfully, against Simmons, an All-Pro defensive tackle who finished with a sack, three QB hits and a TFL.
"I'm excited to get better from this this. Jeffery Simmons is a damn good player. That's a good defensive front. But, yeah, it's a challenge. I was excited for it – nervous, anxious, everything that goes along with playing a football game and playing against a really good player."
"I'm so excited to watch film and get better from this," Jurgens later added. "I'm going to get a lot better from this. I'm gonna get a lot better, guys."
Will he get the chance?
After the game, Nick Sirianni remained non-committal about the changes he made up front.
"We'll see," was the response when asked if he planned to go forward with the same starting five.
The same can be said for Barkley and his stinger, and tight end Dallas Goedert, another significant piece of the ground game who left with a knee injury early in the second quarter and didn't return.
The Eagles need to find a solution for a question they've been asking for more than a year: Will they ever rediscover the sport's most lethal ground game?
Better yet, can they even come close?
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