Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is playing at an MVP-caliber this season in his first year with the team. Over 1,600 yards in 11 games is an absurd rate for any top back, not just Barkley.
As good as Barkley has been, though, there's one glaring issue - one major worry - the Eagles are going to eventually have to fix. And it's related to how much they are using the Pro Bowl runner.
Through 11 games, Barkley has recorded 250 touches. While his total yardage number is the league lead right now, those touches are also well above the league average also.
And with the physicality of defenses growing in the month of December, the Eagles need to better spell Barkley at times to keep him fresh for the stretch run of the season.
There's past history to show what happens when teams don't.
When the New York Giants reached the playoffs with Barkley in 2022, the former Offensive Rookie of the Year did not record over 100 yards in any of the final seven games of the season. Those numbers did not include two playoff games where he also struggled with efficiency at times.
Philadelphia will need to be careful they aren't overworking Barkley yet. He's gone over the 300-touch plateau twice and is clearly in danger of doing that again this season.
The Eagles know they need a fresh Barkley for their playoff run so keeping him on the sidelines some more may be the very best thing forward at times the rest of the way.
