Saquon Barkley: The Toughest Obstacle Standing in the Way of the Chiefs’ Quest for a Three-Peat vs Eagles!

The Kansas City Chiefs are going for the NFL’s first-ever three-peat as they play in their fifth Super Bowl in the past six years. The Chiefs are on a storybook run since Patrick Mahomes became their quarterback, but now the Philadelphia Eagles stand in the way of their next legacy-making achievement. While the Eagles have been one of the NFL’s better teams for a few years, dating back to their first Super Bowl matchup with the Chiefs, the arrival of Saquon Barkley has taken their team to another level.

Let me be clear, the Chiefs will need a complete team effort to win their third straight Super Bowl. The offense has to move the ball and score touchdowns. The special teams units need to continue to be reliable and to make plays when given the chance. The defense has to keep the Philly offense from going off. While quarterback Jalen Hurts and his top three targets of A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert are certainly worthy of attention, it is Saquon Barkley and the Eagles’ running game that has been the driving force for their team.

With the exception of Patrick Mahomes, no other player in this Super Bowl has a greater ability to take over this game than Barkley. So there is no greater priority for the Chiefs as they prep for the Super Bowl than figuring out a plan to slow down the NFL’s leading rusher. Unfortunately, that isn’t going to be an easy task.

You can make a strong case that Barkley should be the MVP this season. The award will likely go to either Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen (who will both be watching the Super Bowl from home), but it was Barkley who had a truly remarkable season. He rushed for over 2,000 yards and averaged over 140 yards from scrimmage per game in the regular season.

Barkley has somehow only gotten better in the postseason, too. He’s averaging 147.3 yards rushing per game through three playoff games and 159 total yards from scrimmage. He’s averaging 6.7 yards per carry (up from 5.8 in the regular season) and five touchdowns. He’s been the most dominant player in the postseason so far.

The problem for K.C. is that it isn’t just Barkley who is the problem. The Eagles boast one of the NFL’s best offensive lines, and pairing that front with the most talented running back in the NFL has been an almost unstoppable combination. Then if you pack everyone in to try to stop the run, the Eagles will just attack you down the field with deep shots to A.J. Brown and company.

The Chiefs had some success early in the season with stopping a pair of the NFL’s leading rushers. In Week 1, they held the NFL’s second-leading rusher, Derrick Henry, to 13 carries for 46 yards (3.5 yards per carry) and a touchdown. That was 67 yards below his season average and 2.4 yards per carry less than his season-long yards per carry average. They also held the NFL’s third-leading rusher, Bijan Robinson, to just 16 carries for 31 yards (1.9 yards per carry) and a touchdown. That was 54.6 yards less and 2.9 yards per carry less than his season averages.

While that’s certainly encouraging, their two playoff games so far haven’t been quite as dominant. Joe Mixon rushed for 88 yards on 18 carries (4.9 yards per carry) and a touchdown. Those numbers were higher than his 72.6 yards per game and 4.1 yards per carry averages. The same is true for James Cook, who rushed for 85 yards on 13 carries (6.5 yards per carry) and 2 touchdowns compared to his 63.1 yards per game and 4.9 yards per carry season averages.

Now maybe the Chiefs made the conscious decision to give a little on the run in those matchups in order to make sure that C.J. Stroud and Josh Allen didn’t have huge days, but I think it’s fair to say that the Chiefs are going to have to have a better showing against the run against the Eagles and Barkley than they have so far in the playoffs.

So what do you think Chiefs fans? Are you worried about Saquon Barkley having a huge day against KC and ruining their three-peat dreams? There’s a reason no team has been able to pull off a three-peat before. It’s really hard. Then again, there is no better defensive coordinator than Steve Spanuolo to come up with a plan to get the job done. Do you think if he has 2 weeks to prepare he’ll have a game plan that can keep Barkley in check? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments below.