Saquon Barkley had probably dreamed of an afternoon like this — and it was probably even better than anything he could have imagined.
The former Giant went off for 176 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown as his Philadelphia Eagles came into MetLife Stadium and stomped the New York Giants 28-3 on Sunday afternoon. It was Barkley’s first game against the Giants and at his old home since signing with Philadelphia in free agency in March.
“I know I was getting booed, but as a competitor, that’s the stuff you look for,” Barkley told FOX after the game. “Moments you dream about… At the end of the day we won, that’s the most important thing… It feels good to come out here and get a win.”
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts passed for 114 yards on 10-of-14 passing with one touchdown. He rushed for two more while his defense sacked Giants quarterback Daniel Jones seven times.
New York’s offensive line looked inept without their star left tackle Andrew Thomas, who is out for the remainder of the season after undergoing foot surgery earlier in the week. Josh Ezeudu filled in for him on the left side, to little effect.
Jones was limited to 99 yards on 14-of-21 passing and was taken out near the end of the third quarter for backup quarterback Drew Lock — likely both as a preservation tactic and a chance for the Giants to get a look at something else under center.
The Giants (2-5), who were outgained 339-119 by the Eagles (4-2), have now lost two straight.
“We have guys around him that can create explosive plays,” Daboll said on the lack of production with Jones. “We’ll go back to the drawing board and do the very best we can to try and improve that area.”
After mustering just 17 yards on his first seven carries, Barkley finally broke through four minutes into the second quarter with a draw play that sent him around the left edge and down the sideline 55 yards to the Giants’ 19-yard line. He took two plays off but was called back in with the ball on the 3-yard line — as predictable a situation as possible. Yet, the Giants still could not stack the line enough to stop Barkley, as he was pushed into the end zone to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
The Eagles doubled their lead with 4:27 to go in the half on a 4th-&3 when Hurts hit AJ Brown down the left sideline in stride and under pressure for a 41-yard score — a rare breakdown from a Giants defense that had held up well despite being left out to dry by the offense. They sacked Hurts four times in the opening 30 minutes.
In the two-minute drill, the Giants were on the cusp of picking up a vital seven points headed into the half when Jones connected with rookie tight end Theo Johnson for a 10-yard score, but he was called for offensive pass interference, which forced the hosts to settle for a field goal to end the half down 14-3.
Five minutes into the third quarter, Barkley broke loose for 38 yards to get deep into Giants territory, thus clinching his 20th career 100-yard game. It set up Philadelphia’s trademark “Tush Push,” as Hurts was guided into the end zone from a yard out to make it a 21-3 game with 7:03 to go in the third.
From the Eagles’ 8-yard line with 2:32 to go in the third, Barkley reeled off another huge run of 41 yards to get Philadelphia to midfield. Once again, that drive ended with a Hurts “Tush Push,” from the goal line to ensure the rout remained on.
“He played well,” Daboll said of Barkley. “Particularly there in the second half when… We prepared for it, just not good enough.”
It prompted Daboll to give Lock a look under center for the final quarter of the game.
“No one was happy about the result,” Daboll said. “I think we have a strong group. We need to have a strong group. There’s a lot of ups and downs, unfortunately we’ve had more downs.”
