Spadaro: Saquon Barkley’s storybook return keys 28-3 rout of Giants

1. Saquon’s return: A storybook day for No. 26

He went through his usual pregame routine, blocking out the noise from the fans and preparing to play at MetLife Stadium for the first time as an opposing player. After six seasons with the Giants, Barkley is now an Eagle and, yes, Sunday was much-anticipated. Barkley ran onto the field when the Eagles’ offense took possession and the Giants fans in the crowd booed and the Eagles fans in the seats – and there were many – cheered. The crowd booed every time Barkley touched the ball in the first half until he shut them up on his eighth carry – taking a handoff from quarterback Jalen Hurts and hitting the left edge, following a Cam Jurgens block at the second level – by turning on the jets down the sideline for a 55-yard gain to the New York 19-yard line. Barkley responded at that moment, raising his hand and gesturing to the fans to “bring more” as he went back to the huddle. After a pair of Kenneth Gainwell runs gained 16 yards, Barkley took another handoff and plowed 3 yards up the middle for a touchdown. He had 75 rushing yards in the first half, 176 yards on 17 carries for the game.

New York’s running backs Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy, meanwhile, had a combined 4 yards on 3 carries in the first half and were non-factors the entire game.

2. “Always Open” with some fourth-down magic

Head Coach Nick Sirianni continues to be aggressive on fourth down and on Sunday it paid off in a big way. The situation: Eagles ball, fourth-and-3 at the New York 41-yard line with Philadelphia ahead 7-0 and 4 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Sirianni stayed with the offense, went for it on fourth down and Hurts delivered a perfect, drop-in-the-bread-basket pass to wide receiver A.J. Brown down the left side. Brown, who separated from cornerback Nick McCloud, made the catch and ran away from McCloud to complete the 41-yard scoring play. It was just beautiful and for Brown, another huge play. It was his third touchdown in the three games he’s played and for the day, Brown caught five passes on five targets for 89 yards and the touchdown.

Sirianni went for it again in the third quarter with the Eagles ahead, 14-3, and facing a fourth-and-2 at the New York 5-yard line. Hurts scrambled for yards and a couple of plays later the Eagles scored on a Hurts quarterback sneak – sorry, Brotherly Shove – to take a 21-3 lead. And he did it again in the fourth quarter as Hurts scored from the 1-yard line. The Eagles are 9 of 13 going for it on fourth down this season.

3. Eagles defense eats again

We’re finding out more and more about Vic Fangio’s Eagles defense and you can see the level of comfort and confidence growing. Fangio is mixing in blitzes that are getting home, he’s using all of his personnel, and he is showing his trust in the roster on that side of the ball. On Sunday, the Eagles dominated New York in every way. Josh Sweat and Co. dominated left tackle Joshua Ezeudu, in for the injured Andrew Thomas. Bryce Huff is on the rise, registering his first full quarterback sack after he had a half-sack against Cleveland. Nolan Smith was terrific, winning off the edge with his speed. Jalen Carter had a couple of sacks inside. Moro Ojomo again had impact inside with his quickness off the ball. Rookie Jalyx Hunt had the first quarterback sack of his NFL career. Nakobe Dean timed up a couple of blitzes perfectly and picked up two sacks, had double digits in tackles, and led a defense that limited New York to 119 total net yards and 10 first downs.