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Tim McManus, ESPN Staff WriterOct 20, 2024, 04:13 PM ET
- Tim McManus covers the Philadelphia Eagles for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2016 after covering the Eagles for Philadelphia Magazine’s Birds 24/7, a site he helped create, since 2010. You can follow him on Twitter @Tim_McManus.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley silenced his full-throated critics at MetLife Stadium with a dominant performance against his former team, the New York Giants, on Sunday.
Barkley rushed for 176 yards on 17 carries (10.4 average) with a touchdown and added two catches for 11 yards before sitting out most of the fourth quarter as the Eagles cruised to a 28-3 victory.
“To be honest, I’m so happy this game’s over,” Barkley said. “I don’t think I should get — besides today — any more questions about the Giants. But like I always said, I’m thankful for that organization. They’re the team that drafted me. I still got nothing but love and respect for all the guys over there, but I’m happy to be an Eagle.
“Most importantly, we got a win today in the division against a division rival and now it’s on to the next one.”
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Boos rained down as Barkley and the Eagles’ offense took the field for the first time. The fans continued to voice their displeasure toward Barkley, who left the Giants after six seasons and signed with the rival Eagles this offseason, every time he touched the ball.
Barkley said it “was kind of hard not to hear that” but said they’re “booing for a reason” and ultimately took it as a compliment. Less flattering was the burning of his jersey outside the stadium, which Barkley said he saw first-hand.
“That was crazy,” Barkley said. “I’ve seen my jersey get burned before on social media, but the timing of it: I’m locked in, I’m listening to my music and all I see is fans just pointing. And I looked and I’m like, ‘What are they pointing at?’ And I see smoke. I’m just like, [that’s] my jersey getting burned. That was definitely different.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever experienced anything like that in my life and hopefully I don’t experience that again. But in that moment, I was ready for third-and-1, I’ll just say that.”
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley hit a career-best top speed of 21.93 mph on a 55-yard run against the Giants, his former team, in Sunday’s 28-3 victory. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
The boos got quieter and quieter with every Barkley big play, and soon the fan frustration started turning toward the anemic Giants offense.
“Tough to see Saquon do that,” Giants quarterback Daniel Jones said. “He’s obviously a good player. We know that very well.”
“He played well,” added Giants coach Brian Daboll. “… After the game, I said congratulations to him.”
Barkley ripped off a 55-yard run down the left side early in the second quarter, reaching a career-best top speed of 21.93 mph on the play — the second-fastest speed by a ball carrier this season (Brian Thomas, 22.15 mph).
Three plays later, Barkley’s teammates helped push him into the end zone from 3 yards out for the score.
Barkley tried to stay even-keeled this week — saying he didn’t want to make the game any more than it was — but his performance told the story of what this meant to him. The 176 rushing yards was his most in a game at MetLife Stadium, and his 187 total yards was more than the entire Giants team combined Sunday.
He was well within reach of his personal best of 189 rushing yards, and coach Nick Sirianni was open to letting Barkley chase that number in the fourth quarter.
Barkley, however, declined.
“I sat there with him and I said, ‘Listen, here’s where you are; here’s what it is,'” Sirianni said. “And he looked at me and he said — this gives me chills to think about; this guy is such a great teammate, all he cares about is winning — ‘Let the other guys eat.’
“And I was like, ‘You’re special, dude.'”
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan contributed to this report.
