Saquon Barkley: Offense is 'scary', and about to get scarier

Saquon Barkley is right when he said this week: "I just think we still haven’t gotten close to what we’re capable of doing. Our best product has not been shown yet on the football field, which is a scary thing."

After all, quarterback Jalen Hurts has turned the ball over 6 times through 3 games − 4 interceptions and 2 lost fumbles. In addition, A.J. Brown has missed two straight games and most likely a third this Sunday against Tampa Bay with a hamstring injury.

Fellow top receiver DeVonta Smith is likely to join Brown on the sidelines after suffering a concussion on a brutal (and cheap) hit by Saints defensive tackle Khristian Boyd that left the Eagles furious after their 15-12 win in New Orleans. Here's a photo gallery from the game .

And, oh yeah, wide receiver Britain Covey was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.

That leaves this trio at wide receiver: Jahan Dotson, rookie Johnny Wilson and veteran Parris Campbell, who's currently on the practice squad. Combined, they have 6 catches for 36 yards in three games.

And yet, the Eagles rank second in the NFL in total offense, averaging 412 yards per game; third in rushing offense, averaging 167 yards; and fifth in passing offense at 244 yards per game.

Much of that, of course, is because of Barkley, who has been even better than advertised after signing a three-year deal worth as much as $37.8 million. Barkley leads the NFL in rushing with 351 yards through three games.

Last week, we at the 🦅 "Eye on the Eagles" newsletter posited whether Barkley's workload is sustainable over the course of a full season. Barkley is averaging 24 touches per game. Project that over a 17-game season, and that's 413 touches. That's the highest total in a decade.

The Eagles are clearly riding Barkley, at least until Brown and Smith are back. And then, Barkley says the offense will really take off.

And here's why Barkley is right. Despite the gaudy offensive yard totals, the Eagles are only averaging 23.3 points per game, which is 12th in the NFL. And they're only scoring touchdowns on 42% of their red-zone chances, ranking 24th.

Hurts has thrown two red-zone interceptions, and head coach Nick Sirianni has curiously passed up field goals to try to convert on fourth down.

If the Eagles can straighten out Hurts' turnovers, Sirianni's decision making, and get Brown and Smith back, well, watch out.

"It’s a long season," Barkley said. "It’s a grind of a season, but once we get everybody back and healthy, and things are meshing at the right time, I think the league is going to be able to see it, and we’ll be able to showcase it. That’s probably the thing I’m most impressed with."

So then Barkley was asked how scary he thinks this offense can be.

"It can be really good," he said. "We just gotta put our mind to it, and focus on the little things. I mean, we show glimpses of it. But I’d rather find a way to break through it and learn at the beginning of the season, rather than be super hot the first 5-6 games, then fall apart to end the season."

The Eagles saw that movie last season.

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Speaking of Barkley, he was already a star when he was at Penn State, rushing for more than 1,000 yards as a freshman. But Barkley admitted that he learned to be a pro from his teammate at the time, and opponent on Sunday, in Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin.

Godwin is known among Delaware sports fan s as a star at Middletown High School. Godwin is off to a great start in his eighth season in the NFL.

This is a big game for the Eagles, who can head into their bye week with a 3-1 record after a brutal travel itinerary that saw them fly to Brazil ✈, followed by an emotional Monday night home game with Jason Kelce in his new gig and Nick Foles making his retirement official, then back-to-back road games to New Orleans and now Tampa.

Whew! When the Eagles return to action with a home game on Oct. 13 against Cleveland for Week 6, it'll represent only their second true home game of the season. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to me either on X @Mfranknfl, or on Threads and Instagram @martinfrank1.

As always, we thank you for being a loyal follower, and hopefully, a subscriber.

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Saquon Barkley: Offense is 'scary', and about to get scarier