It was hard for Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs not to finish the three-peat in February. They could’ve gone down as the only team in NFL history to accomplish the feat. But Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles had other plans for the Chiefs Kingdom. Now, months after the Super Bowl, Kelce commended the Eagles for their “home run” signing of Saquon.
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When the Chiefs and Travis started their run of wins during the big game in 2023, Philadelphia was close to beating them. Yet, they were missing one key ingredient. Then, they found it in Saquon Barkley, whom they used to get revenge on the Chiefs and crush their three-peat dreams.
Barkley put up one of the greatest running back seasons we’d ever seen for the Eagles last year. He rushed for over 2000 yards, including seven touchdown runs of 60+ yards. Saquon’s ability to pop a long run at any moment constantly kept defenses on their heels. His former teammate, Brandon Graham, recently explained to Travis that he was able to do this because of the mentality he instilled in practice.
“Man, when you see him hit the hole, and just know like, he ran to the zone every time. Every time in practice, he always ran to the zone.” Jason Kelce then asked Graham to clarify. “I’m sorry, he ran to the end zone. He finishes everything.”
It’s not surprising to hear that Saquon is just as threatening in practice as he is in a game. Graham went on to say that he did a great job wearing opposing defenses down, and labeled Saquon as a “homerun hitter.”
Travis then commended Saquon for his big-play ability. “People don’t understand that when you get running backs like that who know how to train for those big gains, they know they have the homerun legs, and the stride, and the ability to separate once they get to the second level,” he pointed out.
“If they take that seriously in practice, it just translates to the game. I feel like every single game he played, we saw at least one in the second half when he had already run for 100 yards.”
This only goes to prove Graham’s point further. When a running back can pick up solid gains after solid gains on a defense, it wears thin on the defenders’ confidence. It also tires defensive linemen and linebackers out. This is the exact time when Saquon would strike for his big plays.
It may be a baseball term, but Saquon is the definition of a “home run hitter” in football. Whenever he touches the ball, he can take it to the house for a score. That’s why the NFL world clowned the New York Giants when they allowed him to leave in free agency.
A running back like Saquon is generational, which is something that Travis and the Chiefs learned firsthand in the Super Bowl. Though he didn’t have a big game, his presence was enough to threaten the Chiefs’ defense and open up holes in the passing game for Jalen Hurts. So, even when Saquon isn’t hitting home runs on the ground, he’s always making an impact.
