Admin October 20, 2024
Victor Cruz understands why Saquon Barkley would join the Philadelphia Eagles
Saquon Barkley joining the Philadelphia Eagles in the offseason was tough for all Giants fans to see, but Victor Cruz understands why the running back made that decision.
Sports Seriously
Saquon Barkley downplayed suggestions that his first matchup against the New York Giants was a “revenge game,” but the Philadelphia Eagles star played like he had something to prove against his former team.
Barkley had one of his best-ever performances in the Eagles’ 28-3 blowout of the Giants. He nearly broke his single-game yardage record despite not having to play much in the fourth quarter and was the catalyst for a slow-starting Philadelphia offense in the dominant win.
Here’s a breakdown of Barkley’s excellent performance in Week 7.
Saquon Barkley stats vs. Giants
Below is a look at Barkley’s stats from Philadelphia’s 25-point Week 7 win over New York:
- Carries: 17
- Rushing yards: 176
- Rushing TDs: 1
- Yards per carry: 10.4
- Receptions: 2
- Receiving yards: 11
- Receiving TDs: 0
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Barkley was every bit as good as those numbers indicate. He ripped off chunk games frequently throughout the contest, including a game-long run of 55 yards that saw him reach a top speed of 21.93 mph, the second-fastest speed by a ball carrier in 2024, per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
Barkley also ran with great power through the contest. He frequently tried to run through Giants defenders and drag them for extra yards after contact. The best example of that came on a 41-yard run he had near the end of the fourth quarter.
Barkley’s 176 rushing yards were the second-most of his career for a single game. His career-best mark of 189 yards came during his second season in 2019 against the Washington Commanders. He achieved that total on 22 carries, five more than he had in Sunday’s game against the Giants.
Perhaps more impressively, 176 rushing yards were the second-most in NFL history by a player against his former team. The only player to outshine Barkley was the Cincinnati Bengals‘ Cedric Benson, who logged 189 rushing yards against the Chicago Bears in 2009.
Barkley didn’t break those records, but he may have had a chance to if he played more in the fourth quarter. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni revealed during his postgame news conference that the veteran declined the option to handle more carries late in the blowout, instead deferring touches to his teammates.
That affirmed Barkley’s assertion that there was nothing personal about his big performance against his former team.
“I got no hate in my heart. They got no hate for me,” Barkley told Fox Sports’ Kristina Pink. “It’s all love, it’s a business. They told me to go somewhere else, and I found a new home, and I’m happy. And at the end of the day, we got the win.”