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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Eva Geitheim

Former Eagles RB Reveals Saquon Barkley's Unexpected Weakness

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Saquon Barkley has been the best running back in the NFL this season.

In his first year with the Philadelphia Eagles, Barkley became the ninth running back in league history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. Whether it was rushing for a 72-yard touchdown, dominating with a 255-yard rushing performance on Sunday Night Football, or hurdling a defender backwards, Barkley seemingly proved he could do it all this season.

However, former Eagles running back Brian Westbrook managed to find one weakness in Barkley's game—he's too nice.

"Saquon is so talented, Ike," Westbrook said on Sports Radio 94WIP. "I watch him every week and I'm saying, 'Okay, there has to be a weakness in his game somewhere.' There has to be something that he's just not really good at. Here's a weakness in his game: He's just a nice guy. He's too doggone nice; he's too unselfish."

One moment that particularly stood out to Westbrook was during the Eagles' wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers last Sunday. At the end of the game, Barkley broke free and had the chance to run for a touchdown and pad his statistics. Instead, Barkley selflessly slid down to end the game and secure the win, something Westbrook admits he would not do.

"Believe me Ike, they were up by 12 last week," Westbrook said. "I would've scored that touchdown. Imma take the knee in Dallas, but I would have scored that doggone touchdown. Saquon is special, I love the way he continues to carry this offense, and he does it with a smile on his face. Everyone around him absolutely loves him."

Barkley also proved selfless when he had a team-friendly response to the Eagles deciding to rest him in Week 18 rather than let him go after Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record. Instead of zoning in on the record, Barkley made it clear his goal is to keep winning.


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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Former Eagles RB Reveals Saquon Barkley's Unexpected Weakness.

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