A new Saquon Barkley commercial trolls Giants co-owner John Mara and GM Joe Schoen for letting him walk to the rival Philadelphia Eagles.
“I’m Saquon Barkley. I’ve heard you guys have had some trouble sleeping lately,” Barkley said in a Unisom advertisement posted on his Instagram account Thursday. “We got a big game coming up. You should rest up. Maybe try some Unisom. I don’t need it. But you might. I’m gonna sleep like a baby.”
The jaw-dropping ad plays off Mara’s infamous spring comment to Schoen about the possibility of Barkley signing in Philly as a free agent, an interaction shown on HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ reality series.
“I might have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philly, I’ll tell you that,” Mara told his GM.
Schoen astoundingly told his owner that “I just got a text that Chicago’s driving the price up and Philly’s out. I don’t know if that’s true or not.”
The Eagles, of course, were not out. They were all the way in.
They paid Barkley what he believed he was worth. Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards in 16 games. And the Eagles clinched the NFC East and the conference’s No. 2 seed.
A second Unisom commercial, in a series of ads that Barkley posted on Thursday, piled on the indignity for the Giants.
“I heard some of you were having trouble sleeping,” Barkley said in the second ad. “So I wrote you a lullaby: ‘Rockabye baby, awake in your bed, as the thought of 2,000 swirls in your head. It sure is tough to lose sleep over football. Not for me, though. Goodnight to you all.’”
The launch of these ads was a surprise on Thursday, especially since Barkley and Mara have a good relationship.
But anyone who knows Barkley understands that his mocking of Mara’s famous quote is directed more at Schoen’s decision to cost his owner sleep than Mara’s plea to retain the running back.
Plus, anything is fair game in this intense Giants-Eagles rivalry. And Mara didn’t stop Schoen from making that costly mistake.
Barkley is only 101 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s all-time rushing record, but Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni decided to rest Barkley and other key starters for Sunday’s Eagles (13-3) regular season finale against the Giants (3-13) at Lincoln Financial Field.
That is, of course, more disrespect of the Giants: Barkley and the Eagles have so done well — and the Giants have done so poorly — that the running back doesn’t even have to exact revenge for a second time this season.
Barkley already went off for 187 yards and a touchdown in a 28-3 beatdown of the Giants on Oct. 20.
Now, despite not playing in Sunday’s game, Barkley’s new Unisom endorsement heaps sufficient embarrassment on the Giants once more for their unwise decision to let him walk.
“Still can’t sleep? Try counting sheep,” Barkley says in a third ad. “Wow. Still can’t sleep? Try some Unisom. I don’t need it, it but seems like you might.”
KAFKA KEEPS TOEING COMPANY LINE
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka arrived at his final press conference of the season — and likely his Giants career — with an opening statement that claimed everything was great with head coach Brian Daboll. He also steered away questions about his future.
“Obviously, I love being here and I love working for Dabs and everybody,” said Kafka, who tried to leave a year ago and had his attempt blocked by the Giants. “My only focus really is just on Philadelphia.”
Kafka was marginalized on the staff this season, with play-calling stripped away, and still is playing nice presumably for optics’ sake. Daboll even mentioned quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney and not Kafka for Drew Lock‘s improvement last week, yet Kafka still won’t say anything critical about his situation.
He has one year remaining on his contract.
The one noteworthy comment Kafka made, as an appeal to his personal ability, was in answer to a question about what he’s learned from watching Daboll call plays.
“You learn from a bunch of different coordinators,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot from [Daboll]. I learned a lot from [Chiefs] coach [Andy] Reid. The guys that I’ve been around, I’ve learned a lot from the coordinators and head coaches that I’ve been around as a player: Norv Turner and Marty Mornhinweg and Matt Nagy and Doug Pederson. And I can go down the list of guys that I’ve learned from. So you just take all those experiences and learn from it and grow.”
That was Kafka, 37, listing his credentials, including a lot of names that he’s learned more from than he’s assimilated here.
The young coach may still have a bright future. But being associated with New York’s offense has set him back, especially his acceptance of his demotion in 2024.
It’s time to move on.
LAWRENCE MAKES THIRD STRAIGHT PRO BOWL
Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence was selected as a Pro Bowler for the third straight season, and he is the Giants’ lone representative from the 2024 team.
Lawrence has not been seen since dislocating his left elbow in his final game of the season on Nov. 28 at Dallas. But he posted a career-high nine sacks in the 12 games he played, all nine in his first seven games before going five straight without one.
He also had 44 tackles (23 solo), eight tackles for loss, 16 quarterback hits and one forced fumble.
Lawrence is the first Giants player to be voted to three straight Pro Bowls since safety Landon Collins (2016-18) and the first defensive lineman since Hall of Famer Michael Strahan (2001-03).
He is also the franchise’s first interior defensive lineman to earn three Pro Bowl selections since Rosie Grier (1953, 1956, 1960).
Edge rusher Brian Burns was selected as a first alternate at outside linebacker, while rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers was chosen as a second alternate, as well.
SLAYTON WINS GOOD GUY AWARD
Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton was elected winner of the 24th annual George Young-Ernie Accorsi Media Good Guy Award by the New York Giants Chapter of the Professional Football Writers of America for his professionalism and availability during the 2024 season.
The award is named for the two former general managers of the Giants and given annually to recognize a Giants player for his consistent and outstanding cooperation with the writers who cover the team on a daily basis.
Slayton received 15 of a possible 18 first-place votes from members of the chapter. He had finished second in the voting in each of the past two years to safety Julian Love and Barkley, respectively.
“It feels good,” Slayton said with a smile. “I feel like every year it’s always come, they’re like, ‘Oh, you came in second this year. or you would have won, but … I remember Julian Love winning specifically, and they were like, ‘Ah, we gave it to Julian this year.’ So I’ve always been right there, but it’s nice to finally bring it home.”
Coincidentally, the Giants’ recent media good guy award winners haven’t stuck around much longer once they’ve brought home the hardware — from Barkley to Love to Leonard Williams and Logan Ryan. And Slayton will be a free agent in March.
The only other Giants to receive first-place votes this season were linebacker Micah McFadden, quarterback Drew Lock and tackle Jermaine Eluemunor. Each player received one first-place vote.