Saquon Barkley Returns To New York, Leads Eagles To Blowout Of Giants

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – There were no banners welcoming him home or balloons anywhere in sight for Saquon Barkley’s homecoming. Only boos.

The Eagles running back had the last laugh on those disrespectful MetLife Stadium boobirds with a rushing game that had to make the Giants wish they hadn’t let him walk away to their NFC East rival. Barkley had runs of 55, 41, and 38 yards on three different possessions, all of which set up touchdowns as the Eagles hammered New York, 28-3 on Sunday.

Imagine giving six years of you career to Giants fans, finishing as the organization’s fourth-leading rusher in fewer games played than the three backs ahead of him, and getting booed. The nerve.

No matter. Barkley sent them home disgruntled after putting up 176 yards on 17 carries for a 10-4 yards per carry average and scoring a touchdown on a 3-yard run. He didn’t have to play the fourth quarter with the win already secured.

Barkley was close to setting a new career high. He ran for 189 five years ago. Yep, five years ago on Dec. 22, 2019, against the Washington Commanders. That was before he tore his ACL.

Making matters worse was the anemic Giants rushing attack. Midway through the third quarter, their running backs had a total of 11 yards.

The Eagles ran for 270 yards, far from the team record 376 in 1948, but still a pretty sizable number.

The defense followed up their five-sack outing against the Brown last week by sacking Daniel Jones seven times and backup Drew Locke once while holding the Giants to 119 total yards.

The Eagles’ defense has not given up a touchdown since the third quarter of the loss to the Buccaneers – nine quarters ago.

TURNING POINT

Saquon Barkley’s 55-yard scoot. The running back took the field to a loud chorus of boos from the MetLife crowd. New York’s fourth leading rusher all-time had a pedestrian start that didn’t last long. He burst over the left side of the line untouched, thanks to center Cam Jurgens running interference on the edge. Barkley was finally run out of bounds after a 55-yard pickup that ended inside the red zone. He finished the drive from there by churning three yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 8:58 to play in the second quarter.

STUDS

Saquon Barkley. See above.

Jalen Hurts. The quarterback had been 1-3 with seven interceptions in four career games at MetLife. This time he played near-flawless football and for the second straight week did not turn the ball over. He threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown to make the score 14-0 and rushing for two scores. He finished 10-for-14 passing for 114 yards and a passer rating of 119.3. He ran for 22 yards on seven runs. Kenny Pickett played the final 10-plus minutes of mop-up time.

Pass rush. The Eagles piled up eight sacks. The Georgia boys had a big day, with Jalen Carter and Nakobe Dean recording pair, and Nolan Smith getting one. Other sackers were Josh Sweat, his third of the season, Bryce Huff, his first full sack of the year, and rookie Jalyx Hunt, the first of his career.

Cooper DeJean punt returner. The rookie continues to show no fear. His 25-yard return helped set up the Eagles’ second touchdown of the game, a 41-yard throw to A.J. Brown.

Quinyon Mithell. Several times he was locked up in press coverage against Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabers and got the better of him. Nabers had just four catches for 41 yards, though Darius Slay gets some credit on the other side for that, too.

DUDS

Lack of first-quarter points. The Eagles still have yet to score points in the first quarter, and that’s eight straight games failing to do that. On the fip side, they scored 14 points in the second quarter, which was the most they scored in that quarter since getting 17 in the season-opener against the Packers.

Special team woes. The Eagles were called for an illegal formation penalty on the opening kickoff called on Oren Burks. Also, Sydney Brown was flagged for going out of bounds and being first to touch the ball and Jalyx Hunt was penalized for a block in the back on a punt return.

Third-down efficiency. It doesn’t get any worse than being unable to convert a first down on their first tries. They finished 1-for-12.

INJURIES

-Right guard Mekhi Becton was ruled out with 11:32 to play in the second quarter with a concussion and was replaced by Tyler Steen.

-Linebacker Zack Baun suffered a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter and did not return.

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