Eagles’ Saquon Barkley on return to New York: ‘At the end of the day, the most important thing is winning’

Saquon Barkley knows what this week is, but he learned a long time ago not to make it a bigger deal than it is either. 

The Eagles face the Giants on Sunday, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. It’s an NFC East rivalry game, his first time on the other side of it, and his first time back in the Meadowlands since he left the Giants in free agency – in a process that many saw come to a dismissive end for New York’s part on the offseason “Hard Knocks.”

Barkley is well aware of all that. 

The history is there, both for him and an Eagles-Giants rivalry that’s still going strong in an ever-volatile NFC East. Boos will be, too – though Barkley said he hopes more for the rivalry rather than him having left.

But he also knows this: He doesn’t have to prove anything to the New York Giants, and there’s no hate toward them on his end. He’s an Eagle now, and Week 7 coming up for the Birds is an important one. They need this win. 

“At the end of the day, the most important thing is winning,” Barkley told the local media huddled around his locker at the NovaCare Complex on Wednesday. “Whether I go have 300 yards or if I have 10 yards, as long as we win.”

Though the Eagles would certainly take the former on the way to it. 

Colleen Claggett/For PhillyVoice

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley carries the ball during the team’s Week 7 win over the Browns last Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

Five games into the 2024 season, the Eagles’ offense is still very much in search of its identity.

They’ve gotten by on the backs of big plays from Barkley and star receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, but not before needing to dig themselves out of a hole that they themselves dug first – provided they even can get out of it by then. 

Slow, disjointed starts have become the norm. The Eagles are midway through October and still haven’t scored a single point in the first quarter. Quarterback Jalen Hurts has been hit or miss with making his reads and getting the ball out on time, while the overall flow of the offense, which was supposed to be much smoother and efficient under new coordinator Kellen Moore, just hasn’t been any of that yet. 

Getting the ball to Barkley, however, has proven consistent, and just about everything as advertised since he signed back in March. 

Behind a strong offensive line – though banged up now with left tackle Jordan Mailata expected to be out for a bit – Barkley has been every bit the dynamic star running back he was in New York so far. 

In two of the Eagles’ three wins, against Green Bay in Week 1 and at New Orleans in Week 3, Barkley rushed for two scores each and 109 and 147 yards, respectively. 

He only ran for 47 yards this past week against Cleveland, but that was mainly because the Browns’ defense put a priority on not getting beat at the line – plus more continued Eagles offensive disorganization up to the end. 

Even in the losses, his yardage got up there, even though Week 2 against the Falcons slipped away at the last minute (partially because of his third-down drop and an ill-timed domino effect from it) and Week 4 at Tampa was nearly over before it started.

As much as the Eagles’ offense still seems to be figuring things out, what’s for sure is that Barkley can steadily move the ball for them or take off on a big play at a second’s notice.

“And that’s going to continue to grow throughout the season,” Barkley said. “Week to week, you know, just getting a feel of things. I’ve had success in the past and things that I like to do, things that I feel like help the team. Those conversations are going to continue to be had, and open door policy, not only with [head coach Nick Sirianni] but with Kellen. 

“I think he does a really good job of listening to you and trying to implant that into the game.”

The whole offensive puzzle just hasn’t fully come together yet. Still, here’s how Barkley has held up as an Eagle so far:

Barkley went to the Giants second overall as the elite running back prospect out of Penn State in the 2018 NFL Draft, and went on to spend the next six years in New York, through ups and a whole lot of downs.

He became a star running back in the NFL, a 1,000-plus yard rusher, and by a certain point, the only real offensive threat the Giants had. 

But in the 2020 COVID season, he tore his ACL two games in. His year was over.

Coming back for 2021, he had a chip on his shoulder. In that first game back, he wanted to make a statement. Instead, he ran for just 26 yards in a 27-13 loss to the Broncos.

“The next game, I made it so much more,” Barkley recalled. “I was really out there trying to prove everyone wrong, like you guys, like the media…everyone was talking crap about me, so I kind of wanted that ‘F YOU!” moment and…God works in mysterious ways, so it definitely humbled me there. I won’t let that happen again.”

So yeah, Barkley knows what this week is – the rivalry, his departure, his return in Midnight Green, all of it. 

But he’s not going to make it a bigger deal than it is. 

He’s going to play, because the Eagles need the win.

Follow Nick on Twitter: @itssnick