The Giants‘ decision to let Saquon Barkley leave in free agency has led to the greatest indignity:
Barkley became the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season in Sunday’s blowout Philadelphia win over the Dallas Cowboys. And now the Giants’ archrival Eagles don’t even have to play Barkley against the Giants in their upcoming Week 18 regular season finale if they don’t want to.
They have clinched the NFC East division title and locked themselves into the NFC’s No. 2 overall seed.
Barkley would love nothing more than to set the all-time NFL rushing record against the franchise that cast him off. But he has the luxury to pass on more sweet revenge because he’s on to bigger and better things — like trying to win a Super Bowl.
“The way I look at it, if it’s in God’s plan, then it is,” Barkley said after going off for 167 yards on Sunday. “I’m not overly trying to go get it. I’m not scared of it. I would love to, but at the end of the day, also, we’ve got bigger things that we’re focusing on, and we’re able to clinch the division right here, whether we play next week or not.
“Rest, I’m fine with that too, because I didn’t come here and sign here just to rush for 2,000 or break a record,” he added. “I want to do something special, meaning special with the team.”
He did both Sunday.
This is, after all, the first time Barkley’s team has won a division.
“I’m happy. It’s my first hat and T-shirt game. I didn’t even know that was a thing, to be honest,” he said. “So I’m happy to be a part of that, and we did it as a team. But we all know what the goal is.”
The Eagles’ goal is to win a championship.
Barkley now has 2,005 rushing yards this season. So he needs only 101 yards against the Giants in Week 18 to break Eric Dickerson’s record of 2,105 from his 1984 season with the Los Angeles Rams.
Barkley has eclipsed 101 rushing yards in 11 of 16 games this season already, and the Giants have one of the worst run defenses in the league. So if Barkley played, he’d get it.
He’s already the ninth player in NFL history to reach 2,000, joining Dickerson, the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson, the Ravens’ Jamal Lewis, the Lions’ Barry Sanders, the Titans’ Derrick Henry, the Broncos’ Terrell Davis and the Titans’ Chris Johnson.
“I’m not going to lie, but just being a fan of the game and the running back position, to reach a milestone and put myself up there with eight other backs that I respect, and some of them I grew up watching, definitely means a lot,” Barkley said. “But at the same time, I wouldn’t be able to do that without this team. You can’t be great without the greatness of others, and I’m just happy I was able to be a part of the team and be able to reach a milestone like that.”
Dickerson told the L.A. Times that he hopes Barkley doesn’t break his record, and he threw shade at Barkley possibly using 17 games to reach the mark, while Dickerson rushed for his number in only 16 games.
“I don’t think he’ll break it. But if he breaks it, he breaks it,” Dickerson told The Times. “Do I want him to break it? Absolutely not. I don’t pull no punches on that. But I’m not whining about it. He had 17 games to do it? Hey, football is football. That’s the way I look at it. If he’s fortunate to get over 2,000 yards and get the record, it’s a great record to have.”
Regardless, Barkley’s success with the Eagles now puts the Giants (3-13) in a lose-lose predicament for Sunday:
Either Barkley will play and set the NFL rushing record against the Giants and GM Joe Schoen, who hard-balled him out of New York and underestimated his ability and value to their team.
Or Barkley will rest along with several other top Eagles starters, and the Giants will have an opportunity to win a second straight game and further hurt their NFL Draft position.
Co-owner John Mara famously told Schoen in March that he would have “a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philly.”
Schoen, who received incorrect information that the Eagles were out of the bidding, said in HBO’s Hard Knocks to director of player personnel Tim McDonnell: “We’re gonna upgrade the offensive line, and you’re paying the guy [Daniel Jones] $40 million. It’s not to hand the ball off to a $12 million back.”
Yikes.
So will Barkley play on Sunday or not?
Head coach Nick Sirianni wouldn’t reveal his plans postgame Sunday. Some of Barkley’s teammates lobbied for the running back to suit up and shatter the mark.
“Absolutely,” left tackle Jordan Mailata said, according to allphly.com. “Why not? It’s an opportunity to make history.”
Mailata also said he would pushed Sirianni to let Barkley play.
“Of course, why not? I want to be a part of that,” A.J. Brown said. “Looking back over the years and say that’s my teammate.”
Right tackle Lane Johnson, however, cautioned that the Eagles need Barkley for the playoffs.
“Eric Dickerson is who he is, Saquon is who he is,” Johnson said, per allphly.com. “We just wanted to get to 2,000. We were fine with that. Better be safe than sorry.”
Sirianni marveled at Barkley’s exclusive record and what it means for his team.
“Saquon is pretty special. This offensive line is pretty special. This offense is pretty special,” Sirianni said. “I know the guys were excited when that happened. It’s just a cool thing to be a part of.”
Barkley already embarrassed the Giants, 28-3, head-to-head on Oct. 20 at MetLife Stadium, going off for 187 total yards and a touchdown. He already has moved on from settling that score.
“I came here to do something special, and obviously breaking the record is special,” Barkley said. “But I want a banner up there. I think we all do.”
It would be something if Barkley raced to history with Giants jerseys chasing him in Eagles green. But it will also speak loudly to the Giants’ dysfunction if he doesn’t play at all.