Saquon Barkley peeled left and took in the pass from Jalen Hurts while still in the offensive backfield on a first-half 3rd and 6.
Jacksonville defensive back Tyson Campbell ran toward him to make the tackle, but the Eagles running back shed him with a juke.
Linebacker Devin Llyod was next in line. Barkley put him on skates with a spin move.
Then Jarrian Jones thought he had Barkley lined up to bring him down, with his back turned to the Jaguars cornerback off the spin. Yet in a split second, Barkley lept up, completely backwards, right over Jones’ head to keep going.
It took three more Jacksonville defenders to close in and finally bring Barkley down, after he had picked up 14 yards for the first down and had the Lincoln Financial Field crowd roaring.
It was the highlight-reel, freeze-frame moment that defined the Eagles’ rollercoaster of a 28-23 win on Sunday – even in a game that included a one-handed touchdown catch from DeVonta Smith, a late Jacksonville rally, and a game-saving Nakobe Dean interception.
It was also a play that exhibited just how special of a player Saquon Barkley really is, how much of a difference he has made and can continue to make for the Eagles’ offense, and how endlessly baffling it was for the New York Giants to just dismissively let him walk in the offseason (on camera).
And the reactions to the moment were plentiful postgame, here is a collection of them from on the field, within the Eagles locker room, and at the press conference podium…
• Barkley to CBS’ AJ Ross about the play and the backwards hurdle on the field postgame: “I kinda just played ball. Let go, and let my body just react. That play was cool and all, but there’s a lot of stuff that happened in the second half that I got clean up, taking care of the ball and situational football, but that’s the beauty of football. You gotta have each other’s backs and the defense had my back today. Most importantly we got the win.
• Defensive end Josh Sweat at his locker: “I ain’t gonna lie, I felt like a fanboy for a quick second. I had to snap back to who I was, but I was like ‘Yeah, that was crazy!'”
• Right tackle Lane Johnson, watching the clip back on a phone during his postgame media scrum: “I saw the spin…How the f*** did he see him?…[Jones] was still up. He wasn’t even like diving or anything…I don’t know, man…Some guys are blessed. Some guys got it all.”
• Defensive back Sydney Brown: “I’ve never, in my life, ever seen a man do that. I don’t know if you saw the reverse spin move he did before, like that was impressive on its own, but the fact that…I don’t even know how you plan that in your head…I don’t even know how you think of that. But I’ve never seen a man jump that high at the weight he is and the size he is.It was just incredible. It was probably one of the best plays I’ve ever seen in my life, and he deserves it. He works his tail off week to week, and he’s a product of what he does. His practice habits become gameday reality, and that’s what you saw tonight.”
• Wide receiver Jahan Dotson: “It was insane…Yeah, that was the craziest play I’ve ever seen. He’s amazing.”
• Wide receiver DeVonta Smith, with a big grin in the press conference room: “Crazy. I ain’t ever seen nothing like it.”
• Quarterback Jalen Hurts: “Yeah, God has blessed Saquon with some special things, and I really genuinely pray he continues to use those things in the fullness of him, and give him the glory with that because that special stuff he’s capable of doing…Just need him to continue to be that type of player.”
• Head coach Nick Sirianni, who was constantly at a loss for words talking about the play: “It was THE best play I’ve ever seen…Saquon’s play, I just – there’s gonna be…What I think’s so cool is there’s gonna be kids all over the country, and all over Philadelphia – I really think about that – trying to make that play and talking about that play and simulating that play as they play backyard football or peewee football. They ain’t gonna be able to make it, because that play, I think he’s the only one in the world that could do that. I thought it was…I’m speechless, like, it was unbelievable.”
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