Well, Eagles fans. It’s officially that week in the NFL season for the team’s biggest free agent acquisition of the offseason, Saquon Barkley. Saquon started his conversation with the media yesterday by saying, “Let me guess what you want to [talk about]”. In case you’ve been living under a rock since the Eagles signed the dynamic running back, Saquon’s exit from New York was far from pretty.
To be honest, it was quite petty on that side of I-95. The Giants made it known that they believed they could do better without Saquon Barkley from the moment that GM Joe Schoen stated, “You’re paying the guy $40 million. It’s not to hand the ball off to a $12 million back.”
That $40 million guy that Schoen is referring to is Giants QB Daniel Jones. It was evident from the moment that they extended Jones over Saquon that Barkley’s days as a Giant were numbered. What wasn’t evident was that the Eagles were ready and willing to swoop in and pay him the money he deserved.
The Eagles’ ultimate difference maker
In five games with the Eagles this season, Saquon has been the difference maker that many expected him to be. Except for the guy with the hair whose last name is Wright but is always wrong. Barkley is currently averaging 96.4 rushing yards per game and is averaging a career-high 5.3 yards per carry.
Barkley has totaled 482 rushing yards, 92 receiving yards, and 5 touchdowns throughout the first five games of the season. Even with the offense looking “constipated”, as mentioned by Lane Johnson, Barkley has been a bright spot for them.
He shined the brightest when the Eagles needed him the most. With A.J. Brown out due to a hamstring injury and DeVonta Smith being downgraded to out due to a concussion, Barkley put the offense on his back and rushed for 147 yards on 17 attempts along with two touchdowns. The Eagles defeated the Saints after a great effort by him, Dallas Goedert, and the defense.
Now Barkley is getting set to enter a stadium that he called home for six years as the Eagles will drive up I-95 to take on their division foes, the New York Giants. Barkley has done his best to avoid the idea that this is a revenge game for him. Even though Tiki Barber shouted on WFAN, “You’re dead to us!” when speaking on the Barkley signing with the Eagles.
His humble approach is very admirable with all that is riding on the team this season and even this matchup. There are plenty of distractions surrounding the Eagles with the circus surrounding Nick Sirianni and his every move, to the team underachieving so early but I can almost guarantee that the team knows how much this game means to Saquon.
After the Eagles traded for A.J. Brown in the 2022 offseason, Brown had his own revenge game coming in week 12 of the 2022 season. The Titans visited the Eagles and Brown was as locked in as anyone could ever be. He finished the game with 8 catches for 119 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Shortly after that game, the Titans fired the same GM that traded Brown to the Eagles.
While on the surface Barkley is playing it cool, the Eagles may take this game as the one where they fully unleash Saquon Barkley. It was actually a declaration made by A.J. Brown after he saw the comments made by Joe Schoen on Hard Knocks. Brown took to social media to state, “The Saquon video fired me up and it wasn’t even about me . I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you get yours fam! @saquon.”
It’s safe to say that the Eagles players are very aware of what this means for their running back. This could be the game that helps the offense get back on track to build momentum.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
