Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley sat among the Thursday Night Football Nightcap panel following a 26-18 victory over the Washington Commanders, but you couldn’t make out much of what he said.
Barkley was largely drowned out by a group of Eagles fans who stayed after the game to celebrate their running back while also mocking the New York Giants.
“Thank you, Giants” chants rang out and grew louder and louder. Eventually, the panel had to pause their segment to appease the fans.
"Thank you, Giants."
Eagles fans love Saquon Barkley. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/COjYrwJcko
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) November 15, 2024
“It feels amazing,” Barkley said. “Last year was a tough year for me mentally.”
This is John Mara’s worst nightmare, which has literally been born into reality. As we saw during Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants, he was extremely skeptical about letting Barkley walk.
“I’ll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I’ll tell you that,” Mara said to general manager Joe Schoen.
Schoen reacted to Mara with a somewhat sarcastic smile after having told him the Eagles were “out” before proclaiming, “I don’t know if that’s true.”
As it turns out, it was. Barkley not only signed with the Eagles but he’s now in the midst of an All-Pro and potential MVP season. He singlehandedly won Philadelphia the game on Thursday night, amassing 198 total yards and two touchdowns. He leads the NFL in rushing and scrimmage yards and may be carrying the Eagles toward a Super Bowl.
Every time Barkley does something remarkable, the optics get worse for Schoen, and the dagger gets buried deeper into Mara’s heart.
As the Giants remain an embarrassment and punchline, Barkley is breathing life into their bitter rivals. It’s the worst of both worlds and now it’s being rubbed in, perhaps deservedly so.
Schoen believes his job is safe but negatives are mounting. And Mara can not possibly be happy about any of this.
