Kellen Moore gives his perspective on Saquon's incredible season

Kellen Moore gives his perspective on Saquon’s incredible season

Kellen Moore gives his perspective on Saquon’s incredible season originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

When Nick Sirianni called a timeout in the fourth quarter on Sunday for the entire team to celebrate Saquon Barkley’s 2,000-yard season, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was one of the first to greet Barkley on the sideline.

He has had a unique perspective on Barkley’s incredible season.

“I think the consistency he plays with is obviously incredible,” Moore said. “I think he’s an A+ teammate, he’s one of the all-time best I’ve been around. I think the whole group really embraces him.”

In his first season with the Eagles, Barkley has put together one of the best rushing seasons in NFL history. And on Sunday, he became just the ninth player in league history to go over the 2,000-yard rushing mark in a single season.

It’s obvious that Barkley is a great player.

But if you ask players or coaches about Barkley, that’s not what they mention first. They always talk about how good a teammate he is.

When asked about that aspect of Barkley, Moore smiled wide as he answered.

“I think he just has tons of fun, brings a smile to everyone’s face, just the way he plays the game,” Moore said. “Guys have a ton of fun playing with him and I think the teammate that he is, is what makes him really special. There’s times where Kenny (Gainwell) makes a play and gets it down in the red zone and the No. 1 guy that wants Kenny to score is Saquon. That’s real and that’s authentic and that’s everything that Saquon’s about. It’s been fun to be around.”

During his time with the Giants, Barkley was a team captain. And even though he hasn’t worn a C on his chest in 2024, it’s clear that the Eagles leaned on his leadership throughout this season.

Barkley also became incredibly close to the guys blocking for him. Last week, Barkley and Jalen Hurts gave the entire offensive line souped-up golf carts as Christmas presents. And anytime Barkley is asked about his individual accomplishments this season, he makes sure to give credit to the O-line in front of him.

“I think that’s what makes this whole group special,” Moore said. “This team is very well connected, enjoying everyone’s successes. That’s what makes this group special, makes it really fun. Certainly, the O-line and Saquon are great examples.

“But throughout this team, you see guys each and every week celebrating other people. When A.J. (Brown) makes big plays, Smitty (DeVonta Smith) is celebrating him. When Smitty makes a couple plays, A.J. is right there with him, Jalen is right there with those guys when they make plays. It’s a really cool group.”

As the Eagles prepare for their Week 18 game against the Giants, there’s nothing at stake from a seeding perspective. The Eagles are locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC and will host either the Packers or Commanders in the wild card round.

That likely means head coach Nick Sirianni will rest some key starters against the Giants. Of course, there’s some extra intrigue because Barkley is just 101 yards away from breaking Eric Dickerson’s 40-year-old NFL rushing record of 2,105 yards.

But it seemed like the moment the Eagles wanted was for Barkley to get over 2,000 yards and they got that last week. Moore calls the plays and helped to get Barkley there early in the fourth quarter against the Cowboys.

And then he got to celebrate with him.

“Really cool opportunity,” Moore said. “So many people are a part of that thing and Saquon is certainly embraced. I think the guys really wanted to get to that opportunity and so for that drive, we ran the ball almost exclusively and I think guys were finishing and taking care of business. It was a really cool moment.”

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