Philadelphia Eagles running back, and former Penn State star, [autotag]Saquon Barkley[/autotag] made his anticipated return to MetLife Stadium on Sunday when the Eagles visited the NFC East division rival New York Giants. In the first stadium he called home in the NFL since leaving Penn State, Barkley looked very comfortable in his old stomping grounds as he helped power the Eagles to a 28-3 victory.
Barkley rushed for 176 yards and a touchdown in his first game against his former team. Barkley averaged over 10 yards per carry, surely giving Giants owner John Mara a reason to get a poor night’s sleep on Sunday night.
Saquon Barkley is at it again.
📺: #PHIvsNYG on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/iGCd9x3WWo— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024
Although it was the Giants front office who gambled with letting Barkley hit the free agent market and invest more in their quarterback (Daniel Jones, who was sacked seven times and benched in favor of Drew Lock before the game was officially over), Barkley saw a handful of Giants fans displaying their displeasure with the former Giants star. Some fans were burning Barkley’s jersey in the pregame tailgating lots as the Eagles’ busses made their way into the stadium. Barkley saw that and picked up some extra motivation.
Saquon Barkley saw fans burning his jersey in the MetLife Stadium parking lot while he walked in today
"In that moment, I was ready for 3rd and 1 – let's just say that" pic.twitter.com/PS1rikH7vL
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) October 20, 2024
Barkley ended his afternoon with plenty of reasons to smile. Not only did his team win in his return to MetLife Stadium, but Barkley played a key role in the result with 187 total yards. Barkley alone outgained the Giants offense.
Eagles win 28 to 3. Their biggest margin of victory in 2 seasons.
Saquon Barkley 187 total yards
The Giants had 119 total yards
Birds with 8 sacks pic.twitter.com/y2SQuRUKYl
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) October 20, 2024
Barkley now has 658 rushing yards this season, with five rushing touchdowns (and six total touchdowns). He is currently on pace for over 1,800 rushing yards this season, which would easily be a career-best rushing total. Barkley’s career- high during his time with the Giants was 1,312 yards in 2022.
Barkley and the Eagles will be back on the road next week for a road game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
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