Can the Eagles’ Saquon Barkley have a banner season for the Eagles?

Can he maintain 20-to-25 carries a game each week?

These were some of the burning questions after the opening week of the 2024 NFL season.

Welcome to the inaugural “Inside the Huddle” column, in which I’ll look at the weekly state of the Eagles, Giants and Jets, as well as the Penn State and Notre Dame landscapes.

In addition, I’ll look around the league at topics, one regular being my top five best and worst teams. Also, I’ll recall a former player, game or situation in my “Matriculating Down the Field” segment.

Barkley’s Bite ... Barkley certainly met preconceived expectations with his 24-carry, 109-yard, three-touchdown performance in the 34-29 win over the Packers last Friday. It arguably was one of the most dynamic Eagles’ debuts since Terrell Owens had eight catches for 68 yards and three touchdowns in 2004. It also marked the first Eagle to have two rushing touchdowns and a receiving one since Jordan Howard in 2019.

Is Barkley a 20-to 25-carry back? The Eagles will keep him in that range for the season, with only Kenneth Gainwell and fourth-round pick Will Shipley on the depth chart. Quarterback Jalen Hurts will get his share of carries, as he ran 13 times for 33 yards against the Packers.

Barkley’s performance marked the 15th time in his career that he had 25 or more touches in a game. He is in elite company there, being only among six active backs in the last seven years to accomplish the feat. Baltimore’s Derrick Henry leads the pack, having achieved the feat 30 times.

Barkley averaged 17.6 carries in 14 games with the Giants last season, and his high was 36 carries for 128 yards (3.56 per carry) against the Jets.

Since his rookie year in 2018, Barkley has played a full 16 games twice in his career. He was a rookie sensation with 1,307 yards and also caught 91 passes, which he hasn’t been close to since. In that season, he accounted for 15 touchdowns, 11 on the ground.

He bounced back from some injury-riddled seasons in 2022 with a career-best 1,312 yards, 10 rushing TDs and 57 catches.

According to Pro Football Focus, 86 of Barkley’s 109 yards against the Packers came after contact, and he averaged 3.58 yards per carry after contact.

The 27-year-old isn’t a downhill back, and that may have been a big factor with his injuries of the past. Barkley is better suited to turn the corner, and the Eagles have to utilize his excellent pass-catching skills that often get overlooked.

Can Barkley bring the Eagles back to the Promised Land, and will his three-year, $37.75 million pact be worth it? It’s a long season, and we’ll see.

If you have a thought, feel free to share it.

Mr. Jones, Ballad of a Thin Man ... Bob Dylan had a song in 1965 titled “Ballad of a Thin Man” about a Mr. Jones.

The Giants’ patience appears to be running “thin” with quarterback Daniel Jones. In his return from neck and knee injuries last season, Jones had a horrible performance against the Vikings in their opener, completing just 22 of 42 attempts and throwing two bad interceptions.

Like Barkley, Jones had a breakout year in his rookie season of 2019 when he threw for 3,027 yards with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. With injuries and inconsistencies, Jones has failed to since reach those marks.

Sources indicate that this will be Jones’ last season to prove himself. The Giants couldn’t work out a deal to obtain North Carolina’s Drake Maye, who ended up in New England.

Jones will get the start against in Washington this Sunday, but he’ll likely be on a short leash with veteran Drew Lock, and fan favorite and native son Tommy DeVito, in the wings.

Flying Low and High ... The Jets’ defense was shredded by the 49ers’ offense behind quarterback Brock Purdy and backup running back Jordan Mason, who ran for 174 yards.

Note to Jets: Sign holdout edge rusher Hassan Reddick.

Still, the Jets’ camp remains optimistic with Aaron Rodgers’s return to the fold. Rodgers showed same flashes of old despite being harassed by the Niners’ defense, mainly threading a perfect 36-yard touchdown strike to Allen Lazard.

According to Sharp Football Focus, the Jets have the fourth-easiest schedule in the league, and they have five primetime games, and a date in London.

With Rodgers, they will be under the microscope, but look for the 40-year-old to find his mark and keep the team in the playoff hunt.

At the Top ... It was a wild first week, but here are my top five teams:

1. Chiefs - Hard to dethrone them yet. Showed their character in the opener, and could be the league’s first three-peat champion.

2. 49ers - They looked smooth on both sides of the ball without Christian McCaffrey.

3. Cowboys - Liked what I saw in the dismantling of the Browns. Defense was outstanding, and offense did what it needed to do.

4. Bills - Hard to count them out despite losses when Josh Allen can still work his magic.

5. Texans - They can be a major surprise with budding quarterback C.J. Stroud and receiver Stefon Diggs combining for scores.

At the Bottom ... Here are my worst teams, starting from the bottom:

1. Panthers – They had 34 yards of total offense and trailed 30-0 at the half. Enough said.

2. Commanders – Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels accounted for 272 of their 299 yards of total offense.

3. Giants – Top pick Malik Nabers looked good. See above.

4. Raiders – Struggled offensively with journeyman quarterback Gardner Minshew.

5. Cardinals – Had a 17-3 lead, then collapsed.

Lions’ Den ... In respect to colleague Brad Hurley’s weekly PSU column, I’ll keep my comments short.

Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen both had 100-yard-plus games in their 34-27 victory over Bowling Green, but the Lions’ defense gave up 24 first-half points, an overall total they didn’t allow until the Peach Bowl last season.

Fightless Irish ... Notre Dame reportedly paid Northern Illinois $1.4 million to play them in South Bend last weekend, and the Irish were a 28-point favorite. The Huskies walked out with a 16-14 victory.

Under third-year head coach Marcus Freeman, the Irish have failed to win five consecutive games in a season. They are still expected to be in the hunt for the 12-team playoff, and it will be interesting to see how things play out.

Matriculating Down the Field ... With the 23rd anniversary of 9/11 today, let’s look back at the Eagles’ first game back after the incident.

It was Sept. 23, 2001, and the Eagles easily won in Seattle, 27-3. Donovan McNabb went 24 of 37 for 283 yards with a pair of touchdowns, and Correll Buckhalter ran for 94 yards. Brandon Whiting had a pair of sacks, bringing the Birds to a 1-1 record.

Prediction Time ... I like the Eagles (-6/5) next Monday in a 24-14 victory over Atlanta, the Giants (+1.5) over the Commanders, 17-14, and the Jets (-3.5) in a 27-10 win over the Titans.

Your thoughts? They are always welcomed at tnsports@tnonline.com