Saquon Barkley is leaving no stone unturned as he looks to make it to the first conference championship game of his career.
Speaking with reporters this week ahead of his team’s divisional playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles star running back Barkley revealed that he is taking an unusual step to prepare. Barkley said that he is summoning for help from an expert on how to play in cold weather (with the possibility of snow in the forecast for Sunday’s game at Lincoln Financial Field). That expert? Ex-Eagles running back LeSean “Shady” McCoy.
“Watching Shady, his highlights, probably one of his most memorable games [came in the snow against Detroit in 2013],” said Barkley, per Eliot Shorr-Parks of WIP in Philly. “He had another one in Buffalo too, where he played in a snow game.
“I’m definitely going to call Shady just in case we do get some snow and see what he did,” Barkley added. “It don’t make sense how he was able to cut in that snow. You could just see he was on a whole different level.”
The three-time Pro Bowler Barkley is in his first season with Philadelphia, so he could definitely take some pointers here from McCoy, who played for the Eagles from 2009-14 and was part of three different playoff berths. As Barkley hinted at too, McCoy’s single-game career-high in rushing came during a snow game at Lincoln Financial Field when McCoy went for 217 yards against the Detroit Lions in Dec. 2013.
Barkley has already done something that McCoy was never able to, which is help lead the Eagles to a playoff victory. But it is clear that Barkley has a lot of respect for the now 36-year-old McCoy, who already notably came to Barkley’s defense earlier this season.
