
Luke Hales/Getty Images
The New York Giants got quite the firsthand look at what they’re missing with Saquon Barkley no longer on the roster.
The star running back helped lead his Philadelphia Eagles to a commanding 28-3 victory in Sunday’s NFC East battle at MetLife Stadium. Philadelphia is 4-2 on the season and has won two in a row following an uneven start.
As for the Giants, they are 2-5 following their second consecutive loss.
Barkley was unstoppable against his former team and finished with 176 yards and one touchdown on the ground, while Jalen Hurts threw for a touchdown and ran for two others.
To the surprise of nobody, social media focused on the running back’s dominant game:
LeSean Shady Mccoy@CutonDime25
Saquon back in NYC 👀👀👀👀 I can feel a 200yard day
Fantasy Footballers@TheFFBallers
Saquon TD against his former team <a href=”https://t.co/XfeZdu8Bzp”>pic.twitter.com/XfeZdu8Bzp</a>
Hunter Brody@Brodes81
The most obvious Saquon day in the world. <br>Giants are a laugher on and off the field.
FOX Sports: NFL@NFLonFOX
Saquon 😳<br><br>📺 FOX <a href=”https://t.co/PUvKEYSpKF”>pic.twitter.com/PUvKEYSpKF</a>
Steve Politi@StevePoliti
I honestly don’t get the Saquon hate. It isn’t his fault that the GM never wanted him and did everything to make sure that he left the team.
Barkley’s return to New York was the primary storyline, as the No. 2 overall pick of the 2018 NFL draft played the first six years of his career with the Giants and became the face of the franchise as the Offensive Rookie of the Year and a two-time Pro Bowler.
However, New York franchise tagged him before the 2023 season and didn’t bring him back for 2024, clearing the way for him to join the Eagles and torch his former team with a 55-yard run and touchdown on the same drive in the second quarter.
It opened the scoring after a slow start for both offenses and appeared to unlock something for the Eagles, as they expanded their lead on their next possession when Hurts found A.J. Brown for a touchdown on a deep ball on a fourth-down play.
B/R Gridiron@brgridiron
Rumor has it…he’s always open 😏<br><br>(via <a href=”https://twitter.com/NFL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@NFL</a>)<a href=”https://t.co/dRoDiy9D1P”>pic.twitter.com/dRoDiy9D1P</a>
The Hurts and Barkley combination wasn’t done, as the latter’s 38-yard burst through the middle helped set up the former’s eventual tush-push touchdown to create plenty of breathing room in the second half. While the Philadelphia offensive line struggled to protect at times in the aerial attack, there was no shortage of openings for the ground game.
And the Eagles defense didn’t need much support, as they overwhelmed Daniel Jones on the way to seven sacks before he was replaced by Drew Lock in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand. Even with Malik Nabers back in the lineup, the Giants couldn’t do much with that type of pass protection.
Just for good measure, the Eagles added insult to injury in the fourth quarter when Hurts scored again on a tush-push play after a 41-yard run from Barkley earlier on the drive. The situation couldn’t have been much worse for New York, and there was no doubt about the outcome for the majority of the second half.
It won’t get much easier for the Giants going into a road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, while Philadelphia will look to keep things going at the Cincinnati Bengals.
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