Saquon Barkley has started slow, but his ‘faith never wavers’ in the Eagles’ offensive line

It’s a new season, but there are still a couple of relics from 2024 adorning the back wall of the Eagles’ locker room, adjacent to the stalls of the starting offensive line.

Late last year, Landon Dickerson hung a pair of framed photos of Saquon Barkley from his 2,000-plus-rushing-yard season on the wall. Beneath each photo is a piece of white tape, one with the words “THE CHOSEN ONE” and the other bearing “OUR SAVIOR.”

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The photos remain, and so does the mutual respect between the key parties of the Eagles’ run game — Barkley and his blockers up front. But through four contests and four straight wins, the run game hasn’t looked like the product portrayed in those photos from last season. Barkley is averaging just 59.3 rushing yards per game, which is tied for No. 20 in the league.

Still, Barkley has reiterated his faith in the Eagles’ offensive line as the run game looks to rebound this Sunday against the Denver Broncos.

“I’ve told these guys multiple times,” Barkley said, “A big reason why I signed to Philly was because of those guys over there in that corner. So no matter how well the run game’s going or we’re struggling, my faith never wavers with those guys up there.

“I know how talented they are. I know how hard they work. And [we’ve] got to do a better job, starting with me, of getting the run game going.”

One of the biggest disparities between Barkley’s output this season compared to last year’s is his rushing yards before contact. According to Next Gen Stats, Barkley rushed for 829 yards before contact in 2024, which was 207 more than any other running back in a season since at least 2017. This year, Barkley has just 40.

Barkley shoulders some of that responsibility, given his vision and agility, but that shortcoming also falls on the offensive line and their blocking up front.

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The circumstances have been different for the offensive line this year. While they’ve returned four of five starters from the Super Bowl LIX team, both Landon Dickerson and Lane Johnson have dealt with injuries this season. Johnson dropped out of the Week 3 game against the Los Angeles Rams with a neck injury and the Week 4 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a shoulder injury.

Dickerson underwent meniscus surgery during training camp. He also suffered a back injury in practice the week of the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys. Dickerson dropped out of the game in the fourth quarter.

But when asked for his assessment of the offensive line’s progress through four games this season, center Cam Jurgens said he sees both improvement and room to grow.

“I think we’re getting better every week,” Jurgens said. “Haven’t really been able to show everything that we wanted to yet, and it’s kind of frustrating when things don’t work, whether it’s due to us or other parts of the process. We are part of the process, so we want everything to work well. There’s certain things that are out of our control.”

Nick Sirianni said he emphasized process this week, which “produces results.” Barkley echoed his coach’s message. Football isn’t easy — the team has to enjoy the process when things aren’t going their way. If Barkley and his teammates commit to the process, he said, things will turn in their favor.

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Jurgens said he is handling any frustration about how the offense has looked in the Eagles’ first four games by focusing on his process.

“I think the only way I can handle it is just worrying about things I can control, where there’s a lot of process between getting the play in and us snapping the ball,” Jurgens said. “The only thing I can worry about is hearing the play, getting to the line, diagnosing it, doing what my job is, and not getting carried [away] with other things. I think the more everybody does that, the better we’re going to be off.

“We’re winning games. There’s no point in pressing panic and stress. We’re going to be just fine.”

Nakobe Dean (knee) will not be activated from the physically unable to perform list ahead of Sunday’s game against the Broncos. He has two more weeks in his practice window before the Eagles must activate him or place him on season-ending injured reserve.

Jihaad Campbell missed Friday’s practice due to personal reasons. Still, Campbell and everyone else on the active roster — including Johnson (shoulder), Jalen Carter (shoulder), Dallas Goedert (knee), and Adoree’ Jackson (groin) — is available to play on Sunday.