Three Eagles questions heading into Week 8, starting with Saquon Barkley

Three questions everyone should ask about this topic eagles Ahead of their Week 8 game against the Bengals…

1. Does this defense stand a chance against a great quarterback?

Conventional wisdom has it that Vic Fangio’s team has turned a new chapter in their early-season struggles. This is certainly true when you group their performances chronologically.

But what if you group them like this?

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The biggest concern initially was run defense. Deservedly so. But given the amount of competition they’ve faced here lately, it’s fair to ask how much we really know about the Eagles’ pass defense. Three times this season they faced a quarterback above the bench level, things didn’t go well. And Mayfield, Cousins ​​and Love are not the Holy Trinity for NFL recruits. If you want to move Carr to the second group, that’s fine. A true backup-caliber quarterback would likely have a worse career record than Carr’s 74-90 and likely wouldn’t be able to post 10+ win seasons in his 11 years in the league like Carr did. So of course we can assume Derek Carr doesn’t stink.

The important thing is obvious. Take a look at the Eagles’ last 13 regular season games dating back to last season. They played Watson, Geno Smith and Carr three times, as well as Daniel Jones. Put that group aside and here are the quarterbacks they play for: Mayfield, Cousins, Love, Kyler Murray, Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy and Josh Allen.

Those seven quarterbacks threw for 17 touchdowns and three interceptions, averaging 286.3 passing yards per game against the Eagles.

2. Is Saquon Barkley in the midst of the greatest offensive season in Eagles history?

The only reason this even becomes a question is because the Eagles haven’t been able to take advantage of Barkley’s pass-catching skills. Of all the offseason narratives, the one that missed the mark the most was the one that said pass-catching running backs were the central focus of Kellen Moore’s offense. Somehow, Barkley only has 16 catches for 103 yards, which puts him on pace to finish the season with just 292 receiving yards.

One or two more catches for 10-15 yards per game and Barkley would be on pace to shatter LeSean McCoy’s single-season record for yards from scrimmage (2,146). Barkley still has 2,156 yards rushing, which would surpass McCoy. But McCoy did it in 16 games. The same goes for Brian Westbrook, who threw for 2,104 yards in 2007.

Barkley is rushing well ahead of McCoy’s franchise record of 1,607 yards in 2013. He’s on pace for 1,864 yards on 306 carries. These are the great things of all time. But it’s almost certainly not an NFL MVP thing.

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It’s been 11 seasons since a running back was named AP NFL MVP. Look at the ravens and it’s easy to see why. Derrick Henry’s 704 rushing yards were the third most rushing through six games since Adrian Peterson’s MVP campaign in 2012. But Henry isn’t even close to being his team’s MVP. That title goes to Lamar Jackson, who is on pace for 4,400 passing yards, 1,100 rushing yards and 41 combined touchdowns against five interceptions. Jackson is also the current MVP favorite at roughly 2.5-to-1 odds.

That’s a long way of saying that no, we probably shouldn’t dive too deep into Barkley’s MVP case. But man, the guy needs to be involved in the conversation for some kind of reward. His 658 yards in six games are the seventh most since 2012. Here’s an even more impressive statistic: Barkley’s 6.1 yards per carry is the sixth-most all-time among RBs with 100+ carries in six games. The only players ahead of him are: Jim Brown (7.4 ypc in 1963), Brown (7.1 ypc in 1958), Jim Taylor (6.7 ypc in 1962), Jamal Lewis (6.3 ypc in 2003). Simpson (6/3 ypc in 1973) and Peterson (6.2 ypc in 2007).

3. Who is actually better in the NFC than the Eagles?

Leos are an obvious choice. I won’t argue with that. Losing Aidan Hutchinson is a big deal. The Lions have allowed more than 400 yards on defense in each of their three playoff games. They let over 500 people in (to Seattle) once this year. However, their superiority in offensive line play, coaching and attitude is enough to make them a legitimate consensus favorite.

Beyond that?

The Eagles have as good a case as anyone as the top threat to Detroit. If anything, they might be the second-best team in the NFC. As competent as Jayden Daniels seems, Commanders still defies belief. Three of the five wins came against dysfunctional offenses (Giants, Browns, Panthers). They fought against the Ravens and defeated the Bengals. But am I really going to pick them to beat the Eagles in Week 11? No. I don’t think so.

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The Vikings with Sam Darnold have major Case Keenum-Vikings vibes in 2017. Kevin O’Connell is a great coach and the offensive line is playing extremely well. But let’s give it a few more weeks and see what a 5-2 record looks like.

The Bucs would be the answer if they hadn’t lost Chris Godwin to a season-ending knee injury on Monday night and Mike Evans to a hamstring injury that’s been lingering for weeks.

The Eagles have already beaten the Packers, 5-2. They should have beaten the Falcons. They are in a group of 12 teams with a realistic path to the NFC Championship Game. Even the Rams have a case to make, with Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp returning to the team. Just ask the Vikings.

The Eagles may not be the team they were last year, but the door to the Super Bowl is as open as ever. The decline of Dallas. The 49ers have a Super Bowl hangover. The opportunity is there.