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Eight years ago, a question began to haunt the halls and boardrooms of NFL teams: Is there a way to stop Saquon Barkley? The answer, almost always, had been "No," until a former Eagles star gave the Chiefs the perfect recipe to stop his old teammate.
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Barkley is a force of nature. Since his time with the New York Giants, the Penn State graduate has been relentless in flattening defensive lines. His 4.7 yards per carry and 48 career touchdowns on the ground prove it.
This season, the Philadelphia Eagles running back has been almost unstoppable, averaging 5.8 yards per carry and 2,005 total yards. He's a defensive coordinator's nightmare. But just days before Super Bowl LIX, Rodney McLeod Jr. revealed the secret to stopping Barkley in his tracks, or at least slowing him down.
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McLeod's defensive blueprint
In an analysis for CBS Sports, McLeod began by warning that any defense hoping to stop Barkley "can't be committed for one play. You have to do it for 60 minutes." Furthermore, the former Eagles safety emphasized that it must be an effort by the entire defense, "all eleven defenders."
McLeod, who just retired after two seasons with the Cleveland Browns, warned Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, "If you don't [stop Barkley], you'll end up like every single team the Eagles have faced in these playoffs, and they'll end up with the Lombardi Trophy."
For the former Philadelphia star, Spagnuolo should focus on three points: "Assignment, Alignment, Execution." The idea, McLeod explained, is to clog the lanes for Barkley, just like the Browns did in Week 6, forcing quarterback Jalen Hurts into long-yardage third downs.
Kill the head...
McLeod finished with a ruthless message to Spagnuolo: "Kill the head, and the body will follow." The Chiefs' DC plan seems to align with McLeod's perspective. "Building a wall, setting an edge, and tracking the hip," Spagnuolo said more subtly after Washington's loss to Philadelphia.
Kansas City's defense knows how to deal with running backs. After all, they stopped Derrick Henry in the conference championship, but Spagnuolo knows Barkley "is probably a whole different challenge."
With so much at stake, it's a safe bet Spagnuolo is analyzing every second of tape on Saquon Barkley. Still, practice must equal theory, or the Barkley bulldozer will power his way to the Vince Lombardi Trophy.