EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — John Mara isn’t going to sleep well tonight. That much we know.
What the New York Giants co-owner watched Sunday — an embarrassing loss to a hated rival spearheaded by the superstar his team let walk out the door — was his nightmare scenario.
What he witnessed Sunday at MetLife Stadium was exactly the kind of game that had to have haunted his dreams back in March — back when he was still hoping GM Joe Schoen would find some room in his budget to keep superstar running and face of the franchise Saquon Barkley in New York.
“I’ll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I’ll tell you that,” Mara told Schoen on “Hard Knocks,” while discussing Barkley’s looming free agency.
GO DEEPER
Barkley, Eagles’ defense dominate Giants in 28-3 win: Takeaways
Well, Barkley went. And he absolutely throttled the team that drafted him on Sunday, rushing for 176 yards and a touchdown as his Philadelphia Eagles embarrassed Mara’s Giants 28-3 in front of the MetLife crowd Barkley used to thrill.
Perhaps the only solace for Mara is that the sting of the loss likely isn’t that sharp because he was probably expecting it. The Giants are off to another brutal start (2-5), while his team’s coach (Brian Daboll) and GM haven’t figured out how to beat NFC East rivals — their Giants are now 1-10 against the Cowboys and Eagles, and that win came with the Eagles resting their starters.
So, coming off of another disheartening loss last weekend to the Cincinnati Bengals, it’s fair to say this game had lost some of the juice it had when the schedule was first announced. Still, that didn’t stop the hopeful fans who’d paid admission to watch Mara’s team from booing Barkley when he took the field for the first time Sunday.
Early in the game, in fact, you could hear boos every time Barkley touched the ball. But they didn’t deter him — at all. Barkley set the tone for how the day would go for the Giants and their fans with his second touch. After hauling in a short pass from QB Jalen Hurts, Barkley steamrolled Dane Belton, lowering his shoulder and bowling over the Giants safety.
Things would only get worse for the Giants from there.
Barkley carried the ball six times in the first quarter, but his true “I’m baaaaack” moment came on the Eagles’ first possession of the second quarter. He jetted around the left side of the line, broke free and raced down the Giants sideline for a 55-yard gain. Per NFL Pro, Barkley reached a top speed of 21.93 MPH on the run, the second-fastest speed by a ball carrier this season.
SAQUON. 55-YARD RUN.
📺: #PHIvsNYG on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/x02woOkZaj— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024
Barkley didn’t make it to the end zone, but he ran through it on his way back to the opponent bench, waving his right hand in the air in triumph. Call it poetic justice for the RB, or just sheer nightmare fuel for his detractors at 1925 Giants Drive, but the running back looked every bit the superstar he was for so many years in New York.
Except this time, it was the away team cheering for Barkley at MetLife Stadium.
“I played with him for years, so I know his attitude towards the game, and that’s the way he approached it today,” Giants All-Pro Dexter Lawrence said when he asked if he got the sense Barkley wanted the win more than any other game.
Two plays after his 55-yard run, Barkley punched in the Eagles’ first touchdown of the game.
Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagle, TD at MetLife Stadium 🔥@saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/d2OXOVhzES
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 20, 2024
After the score, Barkley started talking to Lawrence before helping him up. The FOX broadcast noted how Lawrence intended to dial back the trash talk because he knew Barkley would embrace it.
After the Eagles’ first touchdown of the second half, a “tush push” score for Hurts to go up 21-3, Barkley and rookie safety Tyler Nubin started jawing — a constant throughout the game that Nubin later said was all in fun.
Barkley admitted after the game that the heightened emotions of the day resulted in a bit more chirping that is typical for him.
“I probably talked a little more (crap) today than I usually do,” Barkley said. “There’s a reason why, when I go out there and I’m getting booed or whatever, I didn’t remove myself from the moment. I stayed locked into the moment the whole time, and I’ve got to continue to do that the rest of the season.”
Barkley broke free for two more signature runs in the third quarter, one that went for 38 yards and another that went for 41.
“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,” Daboll said. “The first half, he got that edge. Played well. We prepared for it, just not good enough.”
Barkley came so close to his career-high 189 rushing yards — with a full quarter to go, no less — that even Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was cognizant and checked in with the back.
GO DEEPER
NFL Week 7 takeaways: Are the 49ers in too deep a hole? Who are kings of the NFC North?
“He looked at me and he said, and this gives me chills to think about — this guy is such a great teammate, and all he cares about is winning. He looked at me and he said, ‘Let the other guys eat,’” Sirianni said. “I was like, ‘You’re special, dude.’”
GO DEEPER
Daboll says QB Jones ‘remains’ Giants starter despite benching vs. Eagles
Afterward, Barkley said he was happy all of the hoopla around the game was over, and that’s a sentiment probably shared by just about everyone in the Giants building.
And yet the realities of this loss won’t soon be forgotten.
Consider Daniel Jones’ abysmal performance, as it relates to Barkley. While Barkley shined, Jones — the man the Giants opted to give a four-year, $160-million contract, instead of using the franchise tag, in large part because they couldn’t reach an agreement with Barkley — was benched after delivering one of the worst performances of his career.
To not only lose to a heated division rival, but to lose when the star you let go shreds you for nearly 200 yards on the ground while your quarterback plays terribly, well, it’s a bad day for Mara — and a horrible look for Schoen.
“Every year there’s gonna be a personnel decision that I’m not 100 percent in favor of, but at the end of the day, you let the general manager and the coach — particularly if they have a unified conviction — make the decisions. And then bitch about it later,” Mara said this summer. “But that was the decision that they made, and no I wasn’t crazy about it at the time. I didn’t want to lose him. But I understood what their philosophy was, and you’ve got to let them do their jobs.”
Between that comment and Sunday’s game, it’s enough to make you wonder: What might we see inside Giants headquarters if the “Hard Knocks” cameras were still rolling Monday morning?
(Photo: Al Bello / Getty Images)
