NFL gameday guide: Super Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey's return, Dak Prescott's exit and the unsung Alex Highsmith

NFL gameday guide: Super Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey's return, Dak Prescott's exit and the unsung Alex Highsmith

Superhuman Saquon Barkley, automatic Amon-Ra St Brown and the return everybody has been waiting for in San Francisco. We have passed the midway point of the 2024 NFL season as the race to Super Bowl LIX intensifies...

Every now and again the NFL will toss up a play beyond the realms of this universe, conjured by mutant artistry and athleticism that pities us mortals into questioning how we were all born on the same planet.

Reed Blankenship dropped his jaw and sandwiched his face between both hands like a Neanderthal witnessing fire for the first time, Jordan Davis shook his head and turned away in horrified awe - almost sympathetic to his opponents - and Nick Sirianni was left fumbling his words like an awkward first date.

Saquon Barkley had just done something never before seen in the NFL against the Jacksonville Jaguars - if it has been done, please direct this writer to evidence - spinning beyond one tackle before hurdling backwards over another to send the league into a frenzy and answer the prayers of photographers, Madden creators and football's powers that be, who would rejoice over another boundary-shattering moment with which to spread the word across the globe through the dream thumbnail and poster image. The word being, that NFL players are the world's greatest athletes.

To snatch a line from this week's midseason awards column: "To some, carrying three drinks at once while walking back from the bar counts as a feat of athletic excellence. To some, it might be carrying six shopping bags from the car to rule out the need for a second trip. To others, it might be hurdling over grown men backwards."

In an era of unprecedented analytics and covert scheme genius, it was a play over which to romanticise purely for athletic audacity. A man straddle-jumping in reverse over another man with more spring, more agility, more speed and more chiselled split-second improvisation than the rest of us. Box-office absurdity that fuels the love of football for many, and a lasting ovation for a player deserving of this opportunity to play in a gifted Philadelphia Eagles team.

It became the latest poster for Barkley's sparkling first year in Philly since escaping life with the New York Giants in the offseason. The former No 2 overall pick has now carried the ball 157 times for 925 yards and six touchdowns while making 20 catches for 146 yards and two scores to leave the Eagles on the tail of the Washington Commanders and firmly in the playoff hunt, teeing up a tantalising Thursday night clash between the two in Week 11.

In doing so he is spearheading a trend of renewed veteran running-back value defiant to a chapter of scrutiny over paying football's most collision-heavy position in fear of truncated longevity and with the belief that backfield solutions can be found in the Draft. While Barkley thrives as a perfect fit to the Eagles, Josh Jacobs is starring in Matt LaFleur's system in Green Bay and Derrick Henry is hurtling towards Offensive Player of the Year having surpassed 1,000 rushing yards through nine weeks as part of a tormenting tandem alongside Lamar Jackson.

Other-worldly Barkley has the chance to run riot again this weekend when the Eagles take on the hobbling Dallas Cowboys and their drowning run defense. If there was a move to encapsulate this mess of a season in Dallas, it was Jerry Jones' decision to trade for Carolina Panthers wide receiver Jonathan Mingo ahead of Tuesday's deadline despite quarterback Dak Prescott being placed on injured reserve earlier in the day. Add a pass-catcher without your starting pass-thrower. Bold strategy, Cotton.

The Cowboys are 3-5 and sinking beneath the Jayden Daniels-led Commanders - who just loaded up by trading for corner Marshon Lattimore - and Barkley's momentum-gathering Eagles. Mike McCarthy has been on a hot seat since last January's playoff capitulation against the Green Bay Packers; the end feels in sight barring a miracle turnaround. And that might not even save him.

The league's European road show meanwhile draws to a close as the despondent Giants take on Bryce Young and Dave Canales' Carolina Panthers in Munich, Germany. Mediocrity will, though, have evolved into a collision of contenders by Sunday Night Football when the Jared Goff's Detroit Lions visit CJ Stroud's Houston Texans.

Elsewhere, the San Francisco 49ers might just be getting started as they prepare to welcome back reigning Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey, who is poised to return having missed the first half of the season with an Achilles injury. McCaffrey led the league with 2,023 total yards and 21 touchdowns from scrimmage to guide the 49ers to the Super Bowl last season, and returns as a much-needed boost to an offense hit by marquee injuries over the first nine weeks.

Sunday, 2.30pm - New York Giants (2-7) @ Carolina Panthers (2-7): Two struggling franchises, two quarterbacks in Daniel Jones and Bryce Young playing for their NFL careers over the second half of the season and the final international game of the 2024 campaign. If anything, tune in for Munich's rendition of John Denver's 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' within a packed out Allianz Arena.

Jones entered half-time of last weekend's clash with Washington with more passing touchdowns (one) than passing yards through two quarters, which might just be the most Daniel Jones statistic ever. His chances of salvaging a future in New York are fading, and everybody affiliated with the franchise know it. This team runs through the all-action heroics of the run-suffocating and nine-sack interior bulldozer Dexter Lawrence, while first-round rookie wide receiver Malik Naber looms as the main attraction in Germany and potentially part of a box-office matchup with Panthers corner Jaycee Horn.

Chuba Hubbard represents one of few bright spots for the Panthers with 665 yards and five touchdowns to earn himself an extension, rookie first-round receiver Xavier Legette has three touchdown catches in his last four games and Young is looking to build on the momentum of two confidence-building stars in the absence of Andy Dalton, across which he has completed 63 per cent of passes for 395 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions in his audition to either extend his stay or earn an opportunity elsewhere.

Sunday, 6pm - Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) @ Washington Commanders (7-2): Mike Tomlin's Pittsburgh Steelers defense continues to deliver results as one of the most telling acid tests for any quarterback and offense in the NFL, presenting no end of frustration or torment by way of its relentless pass rush. But while it may be TJ Watt who spearheads think pieces as the heartbeat of Pittsburgh's resistance, Alex Highsmith too remains one of the league's most under-appreciated edge threats as he rediscovers his top form having seen injury limit him to five games this season.

The Steelers went out and bolstered their rotation this week by trading for veteran Preston Smith, between them him, Watt, Highsmith and Nick Herbig representing one of the league's most gifted outside linebacker groups. Steelers corner Joey Porter Jr is poised to have his hands filled as he takes on Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin, who has 42 catches for 598 yards and six touchdowns this season while being on course for a career year as part of a blossoming understanding with quarterback Jayden Daniels.

Sunday, 9.25pm - Philadelphia Eagles (6-2) @ Dallas Cowboys (3-5): With their playoffs hope fizzling out, the Cowboys will enter Sunday's game behind Cooper Rush at quarterback after losing Dak Prescott to a hamstring injury suffered in the third quarter of last weekend's loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Rush went 4-1 in the absence of Prescott due to a broken thumb two years ago during a season that saw Dallas finish 12-5 to reach the postseason, though finds himself up against an Eagles defense that has allowed only 14.75 points per game across a four-game winning streak. Star edge rusher Micah Parsons is meanwhile primed to make his return for the Cowboys after practicing in full pads this week having been out with a high ankle sprain since Week Four.

The Eagles are beginning to iron out some early season problems to assert themselves as a postseason threat, Jalen Hurts in particular having thrown six touchdown passes and scored six rushing touchdowns without having a turnover across the last four games, alongside three successive 100-yard rushing outings for Saquon Barkley. Within a defensive revival has been cornerback Quinyon Mitchell's rise as a contender for Defensive Player of the Year, such has been his influence that quarterbacks are now electing to avoid throwing in his direction. The first-round pick out of Toledo recently held Ja'marr Chase to just two catches on two targets for 16 yards while allowing Mike Evans just two receptions from four targets for 19 yards and surrendering only one catch for nine yards against Malik Nabers, according to Pro Football Focus.

Sunday Night Football, 1.20am - Detroit Lions (7-1) @ Houston Texans (6-3): Jared Goff enters this weekend having completed the last 30 passes with which he has been targeting Amon-Ra St Brown, with the chance of retaining that streak having been 0.0001 per cent according to Next Gen Stats. In fact, Goff has been 34 of 35 on passes to St Brown with a passer rating of 141.1 over the last six games. The former No 1 overall pick is answering every challenge thrown in his direction while playing the best football of his NFL career, completing 158 of 211 passes (74.9 per cent) for 1,840 yards, 14 touchdowns and just four interceptions for a passer rating of 115. St Brown has now scored a receiving touchdown in each of his last six games to build an unwavering trust with his quarterback as one of the league's most gifted separators and safest pair of hands.

It hasn't been as plain-sailing nor as scintillating a season for the Texans as might have been anticipated as they continue to seek solutions to the unfortunate injuries that have seen them lose both Nico Collins and now Stefon Diggs. CJ Stroud currently ranks second in pressure rate and has now been pressured 66 times and sacked on 16 occasions since Collins went down in Week Six, per Sports Info Solutions. Defenses have also been more willing to play man coverage in the absence of Collins as they test Houston's other options, while Stroud's completion percentage has also taken a hit without his leading receiver. The pressing issue remains the Texans pass protection, which has seen Stroud face a pressure rate upwards of 40 per cent in each of the last three games.

Monday Night Football, 1.15am - Miami Dolphins (2-6) @ Los Angeles Rams (4-4): The value of Tua Tagovailoa to the Dolphins has been glaringly obvious to see upon his return from concussion over the last two weeks; Miami's quarterback has completed 53 of 66 passes for 465 yards and three touchdowns with a passer rating of 111.4 while helping the offense post 54 points over two games in comparison to 40 across the four games for which he was absent. The division title may be gone in light of Buffalo's dominance, but Miami will still feel their have the pieces to mount a late playoff surge, albeit with a tiny margin for error over the second half of the season. As a result, Tyreek Hill is beginning to become a factor again with 10 catches for 152 yards over the last two weeks, while pass-catching back De'Von Achane has emerged as a focal point under Mike McDaniel 353 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns from 53 touches over the past three weeks.

As for the Rams, not enough good things can be said about the impact of Defensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner Jared Verse and fellow first-year teammate Braden Fiske, with the pair combining for 64 pressures through the first nine weeks of the season. According to PFF, Verse ranks tied seventh in pressures this season as well as being tied fourth in quarterback hits and fourth in pass-rush win percentage, the Rams having uncovered a new defensive cornerstone in the post-Aaron Donald era. With that the Rams are currently generating the highest pressure rate in the NFL ahead of Week 10 after experiencing an upturn in defensive production since their bye week. In a wide-open NFC West, the playoffs are by no means beyond them.

Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons: "I still believe we can make a run. I've seen what Cooper Rush can do. That's a good boy right there. Cooper Rush got a lot of talent. He won games for us by just doing the basics, just playing good football. So it's not like he can't do it."

49ers quarterback on McCaffrey's return: "Just what he brings to the table and really just firing everybody else up, all of us coming off the bye week, and feeling good and fresh. And then you get 23 next to you in the backfield, it's been awesome. Looks great moving around, and he's trending in the right direction. So we're excited to see what happens."

49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams on McCaffrey's return: "Really, you could probably put him in any offense, it's going to make it better. Obviously, our offense is kind of tailor-made to him and some of his strengths, so it's definitely going to be a tremendous lift for us."

Wide receiver Mike Williams on trade from Jets to Steelers: "I was asleep. I was feeling like my phone vibrating, but I thought I was dreaming. It was five missed calls from my agent and then the GM from the Jets called me and told me about the trade."

Patrick Mahomes on Chiefs receiver DeAndre Hopkins: "He had a big game this last game, but we continue to give him more and more opportunities to make plays. We move him around and let him do what he's special at and that's catching the football, winning one-on-one matchups and getting open in zone coverage. It's just going to help the entire offense, not only for him, but helping other guys get open as well. Obviously, with the big game that he had this last game, I'm sure they'll be more eyes on him this week which will in turn help other guys get open."

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams on his connection with DJ Moore: "Obviously it's not in a place, from the past games, a place where we would like it. Both of us. It's frustrating. You've got a guy that's so special, and not being able to connect and hit on certain passes is frustrating for myself. I know it's frustrating for him because, as a wide receiver especially, you only get but so many chances, so many times the ball comes your way in a game and things like that."

Watch the Washington Commanders face the Pittsburgh Steelers live on Sky Sports NFL from 6pm on Sunday, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles against the Dallas Cowboys, and the Detroit Lions taking on the Houston Texans