Saquon Barkley soared high in his debut with the Philadelphia Eagles, as he tallied 132 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns to power the club to a 34–29 victory on Friday night at Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
And it's likely that John Mara, owner of the New York Giants—Barkley's former employer—did not sleep very well on Friday night. Mara, discussing Barkley's then-free agency bid during an episode of HBO's Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants, expressed his displeasure with the thought of Barkley going to the division-rival Eagles.
"I'll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I'll tell you that," Mara said.
The quote resurfaced and made the rounds on X (formerly Twitter) during Barkley's stellar debut with Philadelphia.
Giants fans... how we feeling? 😅 pic.twitter.com/RDpLW31atB
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 7, 2024
It's not hard to imagine why. The Giants, plagued by a series of poor front office decisions, simply did not have the personnel to create a friendly offensive environment for Barkley during his six seasons in New York.
It had to be very difficult for Mara to watch—if he was even tuned in—the Eagles' offensive line pave giant holes for Barkley with ease. Or the likes of star receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith drawing defensive attention away from Barkley on the outside, a privilege he enjoyed very few times during his Giants tenure.
But it may get worse before it gets better for Mara. In Weeks 7 and 18, he'll have to watch his Giants attempt to defend the star running back they once drafted with gold jacket visions in mind.
Yikes.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Giants Owner's Quote About Saquon Barkley Resurfaced During Stellar Eagles Debut.
