Saquon Barkley picks up another honor for his dominant performance vs. Giants originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Another sleepless night for John Mara. Saquon Barkley has been named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against his former team.
Against the Giants on Sunday, Barkley went off for 176 rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. He could have had even more but Barkley agreed to come out of the game with the other starters early in the fourth quarter of the 28-3 win at MetLife Stadium.
This is Barkley’s second NFC Offensive Player of the Week honor this year. He also took it in Week 1 when he had a three-touchdown performance against the Packers in Brazil.
Despite his impressive NFL career, Barkley never won two Player of the Week awards in a single season with the Giants. Barkley took the POW award three times in six years with the Giants; he has now done it two times in six weeks with the Eagles.
While Barkley handled his emotions well as he returned to MetLife Stadium to face the Giants, it clearly meant a lot to him.
After all, the Giants, who drafted him No. 2 overall in 2018, slapped a franchise tag on Barkley for the 2023 season and then didn’t re-sign him this offseason. That free agency drama played out on national TV on Hard Knocks. At one point, the Giants’ owner, Mara, said he would have a tough time sleeping if Barkley ended up with the Eagles.
There’s a pretty good chance Mara was tossing and turning on Sunday night.
“To be honest, I’m so happy this game is over,” Barkley said after the game. “I don’t think I should get, besides today, any more questions about the Giants but like I’ve always said, I’m thankful for the organization. They’re the team that drafted me. I’ve still got nothing but love and respect for the guys over there. I’m happy to be an Eagle and most importantly we got a win today in the division. It’s a division rival and now it’s onto the next one.”
The Eagles surprised a lot of people this offseason when they signed Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million contract but he has been worth every penny. Through six games, Barkley already has 658 rushing hards and 6 total touchdowns. He has gone over 100 rushing yards in three of six games this season.
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