After dominating his former team for three quarters, Saquon Barkley had a chance to step on the necks of the New York Giants already trailing by multiple scores
Instead, however, sat out the majority of the final quarter of the blowout, one that his Philadelphia Eagles won easily, 28-3, at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
Barkley could have come back for more, especially after some Giants fans booed Barkley for leaving for their bitter rivals this offseason. But this apparently was neither a revenge game nor a stat-chasing game for him.
"It's all good," Barkley said after the game, per the official transcript. "Numbers don't do it for me. 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 and I'm happy to see Kenny (Gainwell) get out there and to see him go and get some reps."
Barkley totaled 176 rushing yards on Sunday, which -- adding insult to injury -- was the most he has ever run for in the stadium he called home for six years. His career high (189 rush yards) was well within reach, but Barkley opted not to come back into the game, save for one play. Barkley re-entered for the fourth-and-goal "tush push" play that got Jalen Hurts into the end zone in the fourth quarter.
That play all but ended it. But Barkley set the tone early, delivering a big blow on his first catch of the game, scoring on a 3-yard TD run in the first quarter and ripping off runs of 55, 38 and 41 yards -- three of the Eagles' four longest plays in the game.
"It felt great," Barkley said of the touchdown run. "Anytime you score a touchdown is good. I didn't allow myself to let the moment (get the best of me) of me getting in the end zone, whether it was in MetLife or not."
Barkley was met with a chorus of boos in his first game back at MetLife, although he admitted he probably shouldn't have been surprised by the reaction.
"It's kind of hard not to hear that," he said. "I think I kind of, I didn't help myself when I said earlier in the week, I didn't think I was going to get booed, but they're booing for a reason. It's a compliment at the end of the day. That's how I took it."
Barkley also couldn't help but see fans burning his jersey in effigy before and during the game.
"That was crazy. That was crazy," he said. "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 the fans, and all I see is fans just pointing, and I look and I'm like what are they pointing at? I see smoke and I'm just like, where's my jersey at?
"That was definitely different. I don't know if I've ever experienced anything like that in my life and hopefully, I don't experience that again but, in that moment, I was ready for third-and-one. I'll just say that."
Barkley said he's ready to move on from "any more questions about the Giants" now that this game is out of the way. Big win, yes, and a great statistical performance, no doubt -- but Barkley expressed as much relief as joy afterward, and he paid due respect to his former club.
"To be honest, I'm so happy this game is over," he said. "... Like I've always said, I'm thankful for the (Giants) organization. They're the team that drafted me. I've still got nothing but love and respect for the guys over there.
"I'm happy to be an Eagle and most importantly we got a win today in the division. It's a division rival and now it's onto the next one."
