Giants vs. Eagles Player of the Game: Saquon Barkley

The New York Giants lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 17, but RB Saquon Barkley did enough to earn our Player of the Game.

The New York Giants were hoping to ruin the playoff hopes of the Philadelphia Eagles, but on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, it was the Eagles who walked out of New Jersey as the NFC East Champions and with a playoff berth in tow.

The Giants never gave up in the game and gave the Eagles an absolute fight, but in the end, the Eagles were too much for the Giants, winning 34-17.

One player who never gave up on trying all season long and kept the Giants going was Saquon Barkley, who had a very slow game through most of the game, but then showed everyone how quick he can turn the jets on.

With the Giants trailing 17-10 in the third quarter, Barkley shredded through tacklers and went 68 yards into the end zone to tie the game at 17-17.

At the time, Barkley had just 10 yards before bursting out for that carry.

For the game, Barkley had 17 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown, plus three catches for 25 yards, giving him 116 total yards on the game.

On the season, Barkley needed 89 yards to get him over the 1,000-yard mark and he was able to do that, finishing with 1,002 for the year.

Barkley’s connective 1,000-yard seasons are the first since Brandon Jacobs did it in 2007 and 2008 (1,009 and 1,089 yards respectively). Barkley though, is the first Giants player to rush for 1,000-plus yards in his first two seasons.

What’s even more impressive about it is that Barkley missed several games due to the high ankle sprain and yet, still has a 1,000-yard season for the second straight time in his young career.

The Giants clearly have a bona fide superstar in their backfield with Barkley.

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