Saquon Barkley making his presence felt in NFC championship game

Former Penn State legend Saquon Barkley, otherwise known as "Sa-quad" Barkley, is certainly making a statement in the NFC Championship for the Philadelphia Eagles. When Barkley signed with the Eagles, it seemed like it awakened something inside the seventh-year back.

Barkley hasn't had runs like this since his days at Penn State, and both Eagles fans and Nittany Lions fans are absolutely loving it. Barkley, in just the first half of the NFC Championship against the Washington Commanders, posted two touchdowns, his first one coming on an electric run on the Eagles' first offensive play of the game.

A shovel pass in the backfield and two broken tackles later, and Barkley was off to the races with a wide-open field in front of him. Barkley took the ball 60 yards to the house to get the Eagles on the board within just 18 seconds of having the ball on offense.

It would seem like the commanders have locked down Barkley since that play when you are looking at his stat line so far. Barkley, with seven minutes left in the second quarter, has just 61 yards and two touchdowns. His second touchdown came on a short four-yard touchdown run to give the Eagles a 14-3 lead before the first quarter was even over.

Barkley has been the spark plug that this Eagles offense needed both in the rushing and passing game. When the Eagle's pass offense has struggled, Barkley has put the team on his back, literally, and run the ball into infamy. Barkley came so close to breaking Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105 rushing yards. Barkley had just 2,005 rushing yards in the regular season and was sat in Week 18 when the Eagles playoff spot was already secured.

There is still an entire second half to be played in this NFC Championship, and it would be surprising if Barkley finishes with over 100 rushing yards and maybe even a third touchdown.

UPDATE: Barkley and the Eagles took down the Commanders, posting a head-turning 55-23 win. In the victory, Barkley was downright sensational, finishing with three rushing touchdowns and 118 rushing yards.