Eagles Saquon Barkley Was On Fire In Blasting Giants - So Was His Jersey

Here's more on one of the best days in the career of the Eagles running back, and it came against his former team.

Oct 20, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) reacts after a long run during the second half against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Saquon Barkley was on fire. Well, his old Giants jersey was, anyway. New York fans were burning them in the parking lot prior to hosting the Eagles at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Barkley got wind of it.

“That was crazy,” said the Eagles running back. “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 I see fans and all I see is them pointing and I’m like what are they pointing out and I see smoke and see my jersey getting burned."

Giants fans got the full-on Barkley experience in Philly’s dominating 28-3 win on Sunday. They witnessed his greatness for six seasons, but this time he was doing it to them, not for them.

A.J. Brown’s performance since he arrived in Philadelphia has been off the charts good, and the decision to trade him got then-Titans GM Jon Robinson fired.

Letting Barkley walk away for nothing and seeing what he’s done in six games with the Eagles, well, a similar fate could await Giants GM Joe Schoen. Barkley has 658 yards already and a 6.1 yards per-carry average. New York’s top back, Devin Singletary, has 239 yards and a 3.9 yards per carry average.

“He played well,” said New York coach Brian Daboll. “Like we said, if he gets in space, he's going to make some yards and he played well, particularly there in the second half. The first half, he got that edge. Played well. We prepared for it, just not good enough.”

Barkley ran for 176 yards (10.4 yards perc carry) and scored a 3-yard touchdown. He just missed a career-high by 14 yards that was set five years ago, before he tore his ACL. He sat the entire fourth quarter because the blowout was secured or he would have likely shattered his previous career-high. He was fine with that, though.

“Numbers don’t do it for me,” he said. “Of course, I want to be great and I’m all about my legacy, but at the end of the day, I’m all about the team.”

Nick Sirianni said he sat down with Barkley to see if he wanted to get his record. The Eagles coach said the RB told him "Let the other guys eat. I said, 'You're special, dude.'"

Eagles RB Saquon Barkley / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

Barkley said he probably talked more trash during the game than at any point in his career because he was playing against friends on the other side, guys like quarterback Daniel Jones and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.

The Eagles’ run game was hitting on all cylinders, churning out 270 yards with Kenny Gainwell pitching in 56 and rookie Will Shipley 15. Barkley was the headliner.

He reached a speed of 21.93 miles per hour on a 55-yard run, per Next Gen Stats, which was the second-fastest speed reached by a running back this season behind Brian Thomas’ 22.15. The 55-yard run was also his fifth of at least that many on one carry of the season, joining De’Von Archane in 2023 as the only NFL players since 2010 to do that in a season’s first six games.

His touchdown was his fifth rushing score of the year, making him the first running back to do that in six games for the Eagles since LeSean McCoy in 2011. Jalen Hurts also did it in 2021, 22, and 23.

“Seeing what he’s able to do when he gets out in space after he gets through the line of scrimmage, and he hits hard at the line of scrimmage, and once he breaks through, he’s a force to be reckoned with,” said left guard Landon Dickerson.

Barkley broke free for two more long runs. In addition to his 55-yard burst, he ran one for 41 yards and another for 38.

“You don’t realize where he is then you look at the (stadium big) screen and you see him all the way down the field still running and you‘re like, oh sheesh,” said right guard Tyler Steen. “It’s a pretty cool feeling. Obviously explosive plays shorten drives so we’re not on the field as long.”

More NFL: Saquon Barkley Returns To New York, Leads Eagles To Blowout Of Giants