Commanders

• Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury said seventh-round RB Jacory Crosky-Merritt still has “ways to go” with playing without the ball such as pass protection and lead blocking: “He has to keep working to become a complete back but since day one when he touches the ball he does good things with it.” (John Keim)
• Per Keim, Washington WR Terry McLaurin is working off to the side on Thursday running sprints at about 75 percent up a short hill. 

Cowboys

Cowboys LB Marist Liufau had a critical forced fumble on Jets RB Breece Hall in the second quarter of their 37-22 win to prevent a potential touchdown at their own 10-yard line. Liufau reflected on the play, saying he just took advantage of his opportunity to punch the ball loose. 

“I just saw the opportunity and I took advantage of it,” Liufau said, via the team’s YouTube. “He was running away from me… I saw the ball loose, just went after it.”

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott thinks the play was the turning point of the game. 

“That was huge. I think that was the game right there,” Prescott said. “They were going down there to essentially tie it up and [Marist] punches the fumble out… and we’re able to go get a touchdown and then get the ball back again.”

Prescott was impressed by how the offense quickly responded after the fumble and how the defense came back to force a three-and-out. 

“That turnover by Marist right there was huge and just the way that the offense responded, not only that but the defense coming right back out in… just over a minute and making him go three and out… that was impressive. That’s what it’s about, taking advantage of each opportunity because you don’t know which play is going to break the game open, and that was it for us.”

Eagles

Eagles RB Saquon Barkley, who is generating extra attention from opposing defenses this year after his historic performance last season, isn’t concerned about his slow start.

“Every year is not going to be like how I had it last year,” Barkley said, via ESPN. “It shouldn’t be like that. Football is not easy, football’s hard. It’s a tough sport. You’re going up against a lot of talented players. It’s something you’ve got to love. Just as much as you love rushing for 200 yards and scoring three touchdowns, you have to enjoy your process even when things aren’t going the way you want them to go. You go back to your process and you let those things take over and eventually, it’s going to turn.”

Barkley confides in all time greats such as former Rams RB Marshall Faulk and former Colts RB Edgerrin James, who all had the same message for him.

“Everyone I trust told me basically to sit my ass down for a little bit,” Barkley said.

Eagles RB coach Jemal Singleton said that Barkley’s approach this offseason wasn’t complacency, but rather adjusting his training approach to give his body time to recover while preparing for the season.

“Maybe ‘take it easy’ isn’t a term I would use but your training plan has to change,” Singleton said. “[When you go to the Super Bowl] everything gets pushed back and when it gets pushed back it’s butting up right into training camp. So part of that is, ‘Hey, let’s be smart. You just played 21 games. You just had a bunch of carries, played a bunch of reps, let’s make sure that physically you’re building yourself slowly into it.”

Barkley came into the season wanting to be more of an impact player in the passing game but realizes that the team has enough offensive weapons to where he doesn’t need to be.

“I think that’s something that we can continue to expand on, especially with a lot of teams focusing on the run game,” Barkley said. “I feel like I am a mismatch against linebackers, but we have so many talented players here.”

The post NFC Notes: Saquon Barkley, Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles appeared first on NFLTradeRumors.co.