The Philadelphia Eagles (8-3) are in a battle of grit against the Chicago Bears (8-3). At halftime, the Eagles are trailing 10-3 to the Bears, and the fans can’t seem to get their eyes off Saquon Barkley’s statsheet.
What’s Wrong With Saquon Barkley?
Barkley isn’t injured. He’s not nursing anything behind the scenes. He’s simply off to a slow start, and a big part of that is the Eagles’ offense sputtering around him.
Philadelphia put up just seven points or fewer in a half for the 11th time this season, and the entire unit looked stuck in the mud. While the Bears were moving the chains with ease — 16 first downs to the Eagles’ 2 — Barkley never had a chance to find any rhythm.
And that theme extended across the board. The Bears let Kenneth Gainwell rip off 92 yards on 10 carries last week, while Barkley finished the first half with only 23 yards on six attempts.
Jalen Hurts went 5-for-10 for 57 yards, A.J. Brown had 11 yards, and DeVonta Smith managed 30. Barkley’s numbers look rough, but so does the entire offense. So, it’s more like a team-wide stall, dragging the unit down.
HALF: Bears 10, #Eagles 3
The Eagles have now scored 7 points or fewer in a half for the 11th time this season.
They had 2 first downs to the Bears’ 16.
The Bears let Kenneth Gainwell rush for 92 yards on 10 carries.
Saquon Barkley has 23 YDS on 6 CAR.
Jalen Hurts 5/10 57… pic.twitter.com/7aSQBqCH37— Cory Nidoh (@Cory_Nidoh) November 28, 2025
Some couldn’t ignore the trend. As NFL Media’s John Todd pointed out, Barkley has just 45 rushing yards over his last six quarters (Week 12 and today’s first half). Last season, he topped 45 rushing yards in every single one of his 20 full games, including the playoffs.
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The contrast is jarring, but not surprising. Even Barkley admitted before the Bears game that he’s in a “funk.” And it’s not just recent. This slump has stretched all season, amplifying his frustration after a historic 2024 campaign that set impossible expectations: 2,005 rushing yards in the regular season, an NFL-record 2,504 yards including playoffs, two 200-yard games, and six touchdown runs of 60-plus yards.
Now? He’s sitting at 684 yards with a 3.7 YPC average and eight games under 60 rushing yards. The Eagles insist they’re trying everything to spark him, and Barkley keeps taking the blame, “I’ve had funks before,” the Eagles star said. “Just got to break it.”
Against Chicago, though, it’s been the same script: 2–3 yard runs, no explosiveness, and an offense still searching for rhythm. The first drive of the third quarter finally ended in an Eagles touchdown to cut the deficit to 10–9, but everyone knows the truth: if Philadelphia wants to tilt this game, and the season, back in its favor, Barkley has to wake up.
