PHILADELPHIA – It’s hard to get much flash in a running room when Saquon Barkley is running reverse hurdles and finishing plays like he’s Mariano Rivera.

Maybe that’s why Eagles coach Nick Sirianni took a moment to point out how effective backup RB Kenny Gainwell was in Philadelphia’s 28-16 win over Washington on Thursday night.

Barkley’s performance against the Commanders was Sugar Ray Leonard-esque, a late burst that made most forget most of the game for the superstar, and the Eagles offense as a whole was pedestrian.

After three quarters, Barkley had 69 rushing yards on 20 carries, a nondescript 3.5 yards per carry against a run defense ranked 28th in the NFL, heading into the matchup in first place.

The fourth quarter for Barkley was Leonard stealing the drive with a late burst of 77 yards on six carries, including touchdowns of 23 and 39 yards led by the digging machines of Mekhi Becton and Cam Jurgens, respectively.

“That’s the beauty of football,” Barkley told NFL Network after the game. “You can shut him down for 20 wickets, but if you get two of them wrong, we’ve got a big day.”

Gainwell’s part of it all came early in the fourth quarter, when the fourth-year pro actually pointed out that Washington’s defense was wilting after the body shots of the first three quarters.

On three straight plays, Gainwell took the Eagles from the Chiefs’ 38-yard line to the 4 with consecutive runs of 14, 13 and seven yards.

Barkley ran for three more yards before Jalen Hurts was sacked from the one, giving the Eagles their first touchdown and a lead of the game, 12-10, and one they never relinquished with 12 minutes remaining.

“I mean, how about (RB) Kenny Gainwell?” Sirianni gushed when asked by the Philadelphia Eagles on SI about the running game. “How about how well he played? He stepped in for Saquon when Saquon needed a break. I was going to the ball because I had a good tempo.

“I kind of had them on my heels and kept going. Kenny played his ass off.”

Every good relative needs a man of training.

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