Saquon Barkley’s debut with the Philadelphia Eagles was nothing wanting phenomenal, and the New York Giants ought to have a collective pit of their abdomen for letting him stroll.
Not solely did they let him go away in free company, however they let him get scooped up by a division rival and a workforce within the Eagles that appears primed to take dwelling the NFC East in 2024.
Barkley scored three touchdowns in opposition to the Inexperienced Bay Packers on Friday evening in Sau Paulo, Brazil. He regarded like a totally totally different, rejuvenated model of the working again that was so dominant throughout his time in faculty at Penn State.
Philadelphia’s offense is frightening. Quarterback Jalen Hurts seemingly already unlocked Barkley’s pass-catching talents, as his first landing of the sport was an unbelievable finish zone snag. He had two catches for 23 yards.
However the Packers had no solutions for Barkley on the bottom. 24 rushes for 109 yards and two touchdowns. It regarded means too simple for him behind Philadelphia’s offensive line, which was nonetheless removed from excellent of their first sport as a unit since Jason Kelce’s retirement.
Hurts and Barkley within the backfield, paired with DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, as probably the greatest receiving duos within the NFL, offers head coach Nick Sirriani one of the crucial loaded offenses on paper. And it lived as much as the hype in Week 1.
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 even eclipsed 900 speeding yards in a season. They’re relying closely on rookie large receiver Malik Nabers, who was stellar in faculty, however take a look at who was throwing him the ball at LSU, and take a look at who can be throwing him the ball within the NFL.
We hear it on a regular basis: the NFL is a results-oriented enterprise.
It’s exhausting to see the Giants having improved outcomes with a serious downgrade at working again, whereas their former celebrity is already scoring touchdowns for the Eagles, who they may play twice per 12 months.
The Giants haven’t even began their season but, however you’ll be able to see how vibes could be low. Not solely are the Eagles loaded, however the Giants will even should cope with the Dallas Cowboys, who’re enjoying Dak Prescott on a prove-it 12 months.
New York has had since 2018 to guage Barkley with loads of contract drama alongside the best way, and GM Joe Schoen in the end determined that he was not value conserving round. Eagles GM Howie Roseman gladly gave the star working again a three-year deal value $37.75 million.
Whereas one sport is not going to decide the whole lot, it looks as if the Giants ought to already be kicking themselves for permitting that to occur proper beneath their noses.