Eagles RB Saquon Barkley will ‘definitely call’ LeSean McCoy in case of snow game against Rams

Having grown up in the Northeast and played college ball at Penn State before becoming a New York Giant and finally an Eagle this season, Barkley is no stranger to snow.

Nor is the ninth and newest member of the 2,000-yard rushing club new to operating at another level himself.

Still, any information is welcome when a trip to the NFC Championship Game is on the line — especially given the Rams’ defensive hot streak and likely increased focus on Barkley after he so ruthlessly let them down in the regular season.

In Week 12, Barkley ran hard against Los Angeles, breaking McCoy’s previous single-game franchise rushing record with 255 yards and also setting an Eagles record for yards from scrimmage with 302. He scored twice, mammoth bursts of 70 and 72 yards . It was the most yards, both rushing and scrimmage, the Rams have ever allowed to a single player.

For as great as his performance was, however, Barkley is aware that the past two months have proven to be transformative for a young LA defense coming into its own.

In large part because of their D, the Rams haven’t lost a contest in which they’ve played their starters since that embarrassment, and from Week 15 through Wild Card Weekend, they’ve allowed 12.6 points per game. game and 96.6 rushing yards per game without giving up a single TD on the ground.

“They’re a much better team than they were defensively,” Barkley said. “In my opinion, when you watch film of them and see how much they’ve improved, they’re playing great football on that side right now. We know it’s going to be a challenge. When you rush for over 300 yards against a team , they’re going to have some kind of game plan to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Fittingly, the Rams’ next test pits them against the team and player that catapulted them to historic proportions just before their late-season turnaround began.

But snow or not, and regardless of LA’s improvement, Barkley is confident his Eagles can win again.

“I’m not really interested in the weather,” he said. “Whoever comes out there and executes is going to be the team that’s going to win. That’s my mindset. I trust the system that we have and I trust the game plan that we have. … Whether it’s five degrees or 90, just go out and execute and we’ll be fine.”