Saquon Barkley’s debut with the Philadelphia Eagles was phenomenal, and the New York Giants must be feeling a collective heartache over letting him go.
Not solely did they let him depart in free company, they let him be poached by a division rival and the Eagles, a staff that appears poised to take again the NFC East in 2024.
Barkley scored three touchdowns in opposition to the Inexperienced Bay Packers on Friday night time in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He appears like a very totally different, dynamic working again who dominated throughout his time at Penn State.
Philadelphia’s offense is frightening. Quarterback Jalen Hurts appeared to have unleashed Barkley’s catching capability as his first landing of the sport was an unbelievable finish zone snag. He caught two passes for 23 yards.
However the Packers had no reply for Barkley on the sphere. Rushed 24 instances for 109 yards and two touchdowns. It is wanting too straightforward for him behind Philadelphia’s offensive line, whose first recreation as a unit since Jason Kelce retired continues to be removed from good.
Hurts and Barkley pair up with DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown within the backfield as one of many NFL’s finest receiving duos, giving head coach Nick Sirianni his heaviest offense on paper one. It lived as much as the primary week hype.
In the meantime, the Giants are nonetheless wandering the desert with Daniel Jones. Their beginning working again is Devin Singletary, who has by no means rushed for greater than 900 yards in a season. They’re relying closely on rookie broad receiver Malik Nabers, who excelled in faculty, however look who threw for him at LSU and look who will throw to him within the NFL.
We hear it usually: The NFL is a results-driven business.
It is troublesome for the Giants to see enchancment as a result of a major downgrade at working again, whereas their former celebrity has scored a landing for the Eagles, who they are going to play twice a yr.
The Giants’ season hasn’t began but, however you’ll be able to see how low the ambiance is. Not solely does the Eagles have a deep roster, the Giants additionally need to cope with the Dallas Cowboys, who shall be going through off in opposition to a participant who has confirmed himself this yr in Dak Prescott.
New York has been evaluating Barkley with loads of contract drama since 2018, and common supervisor Joe Schoen in the end determined it wasn’t value preserving him. Eagles common supervisor Howie Roseman fortunately gave the star working again a three-year, $37.75 million contract.
Whereas one recreation is not every little thing, it looks like the Giants must be kicking themselves for permitting this to occur beneath their noses.
