We don’t get a lot of detail from Kellen Moore, but at his midweek press conference he did talk a bit about Saquon Barkley’s game-winning touchdown run from Sunday evening:

Q: Saquon Barkley’s 25-yard touchdown run, explain everything that had to work for that play.(Martin Frank)

KELLEN MOORE: Guys got to the line of scrimmage. Jalen (Hurts) made the communication to get to the play call. Grant (Calcaterra) first and foremost on the backside had a really challenging block. It was a six technique, the defensive end was tight, he was going to have to cut him off. He did an excellent job there.

The frontside of the block between Mekhi (Becton) and Lane (Johnson) was excellent. Jordan (Mailata) was the puller. He got to the second level. The receivers running those guys off, eventually becoming blockers. We’ve talked about that in a few of these big plays, how critical these receivers are to making these home run plays. They’re running guys off. Eventually they do have to become blockers. There’s that flip and find term that we’ve mentioned, where you have to find those guys, get the blocks, and it allows Saquon to really be running on the post safety, which is a huge advantage for us.

Good explanation. Gives us a little bit to analyze.

When Moore talks about “six technique.” he means that the EDGE is lined up directly over the tight end. So in Calcaterra’s case, he has to slide inside to prevent Malik Harrison from getting through and making a play in the backfield. You see that the Eagles guards are 1v1 with the defensive tackles and Cam Jurgens is getting to the second level to take Trenton Simpson, which leaves Mailata to pull through the B gap and meet Roquan Smith while Johnson handles Tavius Robinson:

The key is getting Mailata through that B gap. He gets enough of Smith to allow Barkley to slide through, and he’s in the open field:

Really nice blocking in the open field from Jahan Dotson and Parris Campbell as well. Moore talks about “running guys off,” so in this case Dotson and Campbell and running enough of a fake route to move the defensive backs out of way, then engage them in blocks. Saquon then only has to deal with post safety Ar’Darius Washington, who can’t make the 1v1 play in space, then Barkley runs through an arm tackle for a TD.


Not a complicated play, not a complicated explanation from Kellen Moore, but the Eagles’ run game is varied and diverse. They’ll run inside, run outside, pull the tackles, pull the guards, use wham blocks, and mix it up throughout. They’re also getting better-than-expected play from guys like Calcaterra, who do the small things in the run game and allow for heavy 12-personnel use. The Eagles are in two-tight end sets 33.9% of the time, which is 5th-most in the league and a good explainer for why they’re running the ball so well. Not for nothing, but three of the top five 12 personnel usage teams are Super Bowl contenders. It’s the Chiefs, Lions, and Eagles consistently using two tight ends.