Barkley exits with groin injury as Eagles' run game struggles

Saquon Barkley rushed for 150 yards in the first three quarters of Sunday’s game against the New York Giants but left the field late in the third quarter with what was described as a groin injury and was listed as questionable to return. The breakout performance briefly halted a season-long slump for the Philadelphia Eagles running back, who had been held to modest production through the first seven games of the 2025 season.

Through seven games Barkley had 369 rushing yards on 113 carries, an average of about 3.3 yards per attempt, and had scored three rushing touchdowns. Those numbers marked a sharp decline from his 2,005-yard campaign last season. In recent weeks he was often stopped behind the line or forced into negative plays; Pro Football Focus data cited in team analysis shows Barkley averaging roughly 1.13 yards before contact, and he led the league with 21 runs for negative yardage through a seven-game span. He also entered Sunday without a run of 20 yards this season, a contrast to 17 such runs last year.

Coaches, teammates and outside observers have pointed to several factors behind the drop in production. Opposing defenses have frequently crowded the line of...