Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Penn State Football

Penn State Great Saquon Barkley Named NFC Offensive Player of the Week

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 02: Penn State Nittany Lions RB Saquon Barkley (26) during the second quarter of the USC Trojans game versus the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Rose Bowl Game on January 2, 2017, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. (Photo by Adam Davis/Icon Sportswire)

Saquon Barkley is making the most of his return to Pennsylvania. 

The former Penn State star and current Philadelphia Eagles running back was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday following a dominant performance against his former team, the New York Giants.

Barkley made a large portion of the Penn State community happy in a 28-3 victory in New York, rushing for 176 yards on 17 carries and one touchdown. Barkley averaged over 10 yards per carry and caught two passes despite not playing late in the game due to the score. 

The two-time Pro Bowl selection signed a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the Eagles to stay in the NFC East, but with Philadelphia’s arch-rival roughly 90 miles away.

He’s rushed for 658 yards – an outstanding 6.1 yards per carry – and five touchdowns behind the Eagles veteran offensive line as the Eagles have won four of their first six games. 

Barkley’s playing so well that he’s breaking his own records. His 761 scrimmage yards are the most by a player with his new team since Barkley’s rookie season with the Giants in 2018 after being selected second overall.

Known as an incredible teammate, Barkley opted to give rookie Will Shipley carries in the 4th quarter despite being 13 yards shy of his career high. 

“Are you sure?” head coach Nick Sirianni asked Barkley. “You’re good; let them eat. I promise. I’d rather see the young boys eat.”

Barkley gave his coach a fist bump and gave way for Shipley to receive eight total carries for 15 yards. Kenneth Gainwell also rushed 13 times for 56 yards. Barkley and the Eagles hit the road to face Joe Burrow and the Bengals on Sunday at 1 p.m. on CBS.

Get NSN in your Inbox

Enter your email address to get notifications of new posts by email.

More from Nittany Sports Now

Penn State Football Recruiting

1 One of the top wide receivers in the Class of 2026 has listed Penn State football as one of his finalists. 2026 4-star...

Penn State Football

0 Penn State is ranked sixth in the first College Football Playoff rankings, unveiled Tuesday with four games left before conference championships but at...

Penn State Football Recruiting

2s For the second consecutive week, the No. 6 ranked Penn State football program will be hosting a large number of highly rated recruits....

Penn State Football Recruiting

3s Despite being committed to Penn State for over a calendar year, Aliquippa 2025 4-star running back Tiqwai Hayes was a popular recruit. Reason...