Eagles' Barkley: 'We know the recipe' to repeat as champions

Star running back Saquon Barkley believes his Philadelphia Eagles are prepared to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

"We've got guys coming in and buying in, training really hard, competing at a high level," Barkley told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Brian Baldinger. "The young guys that we drafted and the people we brought in, they're buying into the culture right from the beginning."

He added, "Success is not an accident. We know the recipe. We know what it takes. We can't skip any steps to get to where we want to get to ... With the talent that we have and the coaches that we have, we'll be in a good position."

The Eagles finished the regular season with a 14-3 record. They won 16 of their final 17 games, including four playoff contests, culminating in a dominant Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Barkley enjoyed one of the best seasons from a running back in recent memory. After signing a three-year deal in free agency, he rushed for a league-leading 2,005 yards on 345 attempts with 15 total touchdowns.

The 28-year-old added 499 rushing yards in the playoffs, setting a single-season combined rushing record with 2,504 yards. The Eagles rewarded Barkley for his stellar campaign with an extension that makes him the league's highest-paid running back. He was also announced as the cover athlete for Madden 26 on Monday.

"It was a hell of a year. It was a year that you dream about," Barkley said. "It was a year that you train for. The beauty of it is you have an opportunity to do it again."

"That's what the mindset kind of shifts to is learn from it, and even though you had a great year, there's so many plays and so many things I can continue to improve on. You've got to be obsessed with the little details and locking into taking your game to another level."

The New England Patriots (2003, 2004) and Chiefs (2022, 2023) are the only franchises to repeat as champions since 2000. Philadelphia will begin its title defense in the NFL's season opener against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 4.