Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley said his hamstring "came out great" in his return to action, and he does not expect a back problem that flared up during the game to sideline him going forward. His comments came after the Eagles fell 38-21 to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night.
Barkley entered the game listed as questionable because of a hamstring injury that had kept him out for the previous two weeks. The Eagles planned to limit his workload, and the number of carries shrank further when his back locked up as the game went on.
In all, Barkley played nine snaps and touched the ball on every one of them. He finished with seven carries for 62 yards and a touchdown, plus two catches for 9 yards. He is the first NFL starter in the past 20 seasons to play at least nine offensive snaps in a game and get a touch on each one.
Barkley was visibly managing his health throughout the night. He spent time in the medical tent and at one point stretched with trainers on the bench. After scoring on an 8-yard run during the Eagles' first offensive possession, he headed straight off the field to the exercise bike on the sideline.
He said he tweaked his back on a 29-yard run in the first quarter and that it worsened from there. His final snap came in the third quarter. Barkley said he does not think the issue will cost him time but deferred to the training staff.
"It's kind of the school of thought I come from: I truly love this game, and I feel like if you're able to go, sometimes you've got to push your body to the limit," Barkley said. "I'm trying, it's just not responding the way I want it to respond right now. It sucks because I'm trying to be the best leader I can be, and it's hard when you're not able to be out there and perform for your team."
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said the team put the player's health first before clearing him. "Do they feel ready to go? Do the doctors and trainers feel like he's ready to go? And we felt like that was the case today. But obviously wanted to keep a close eye on him," Sirianni said. He added that Barkley is "tough as heck" and would have stayed on the field for every play if allowed, so the staff "probably had to slow him up."
The injury problems extend across Philadelphia's backfield. Will Shipley (foot), Tank Bigsby (abdomen) and Carson Steele (shoulder) are all on injured reserve. Dameon Pierce left in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury, which left the remaining running back duties to Elijah Mitchell, who was promoted from the practice squad for the game.
