SAO PAULO, Brazil − Saquon Barkley fell down on his first carry after slipping on the turf at Corinthians Arena, and lost 5 yards.
He wasn’t doing much better as the Eagles turned the ball over on their first two possessions.
But then Barkley got going and so did the Eagles offense. Trailing 6-0 on their third possession, Barkley had runs of 5 and 11 yards, getting the Eagles to the Green Bay 17. One play later, Jalen Hurts hit Barkley on a wheel route for an 18-yard touchdown with 12:38 left in the second quarter.
Then Barkley capped off the next drive with an 11-yard TD run up the middle with 5:34 left in the half, giving the Eagles a 14-12 lead.
Barkley got his third TD on a 2-yard run with 4:26 left. That was set up by Reed Blankenship’s interception that gave the Eagles the ball at Green Bay’s 24.
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Barkley ended the third quarter with a 34-yard run, giving him 94 yards rushing on 16 carries and 23 yards receiving heading into the fourth.
That was the Barkley the Eagles were expecting when they signed him to a three-year deal worth as much as $37.8 million.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl, on Threads and Instagram @martinfrank1.
