Saquon Barkley Says Eagles Gave Commanders 'a Dummy Call and It Worked to Perfection'

Saquon Barkley revealed that the Philadelphia Eagles fooled the Washington Commanders defense prior to the snap on the team's first play from scrimmage on Sunday.

"When you play a team two or three times, they kind of get a bead on some of your stuff," Barkley said following the Eagles' 55-23 win, per Brooks Kubena of The Athletic. "We gave them a dummy call and it worked to perfection."

After the star running back picked up 296 rushing yards and four touchdowns while averaging 5.4 yards per carry against Philadelphia's NFC East rival during the regular season, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said they figured Washington would "sell out against the run" in their NFC Championship Game clash (via Kubena).

As Philadelphia lined up for its first play of the game, the Commanders put eight defenders in the box. Quarterback Jalen Hurts pretended to call an audible after moving under center, but he ended up giving the ball to Barkley for a 60-yard score.

Barkley thrived against the Commanders, picking up 118 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries.

He spearheaded a dominant overall performance from Philadelphia's rushing attack, amassing 229 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground as a team.

While the Eagles narrowly outscored the Commanders 59-54 in their two regular-season meetings, they took an early double-digit lead in the first quarter on Sunday before pulling away in the second half and cruising to their second NFC title in three years.

Barkley has been a major reason for Philadelphia's successful 2024 campaign, rushing for a league-leading 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns while averaging 5.8 yards per attempt during the regular season. He was named an MVP finalist on Thursday.

The Eagles were aware of Washington's desire to stop Barkley, so they used some pre-snap trickery to get off to a strong start in Sunday's playoff clash.