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Now Saquon Barkley come and experience the other side of earning a big contract and playing in Philadelphia.
The Eagles validated Barkley’s belief in his elite abilities with the free agent signing this spring, and the former Giants running back’s three-touchdown debut in Brazil turned him into a hero initial in The city of brotherly love.
But Barkley dropped a third pass late in the fourth quarter Monday night and cost his team the game in a 22-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field. And so it fell within his stated goal to be “consistent” this season in his prominent new role.
“I make that catch, it’s game over,” Barkley told reporters after the Eagles fell to 1-1. “I dropped the ball. I let my team down today. I shouldn’t have put the defense in that position.”
Barkley’s hiccup added an interesting new chapter to the start of his post-Giants career, capping an otherwise productive night with 116 yards from scrimmage and four catches on five targets, including a second receiving TD in the his first two games.
His night was no different from Sunday’s performances by the Giants’ replacements for him: wide receiver Malik Nabers and running back Devin Singletary.
Nabers had 127 yards and a touchdown. Singletary had 95 yards and a TD. But Singletary lost a fumble in the third quarter to give Washington life early in the second half, and Nabers dropped a fourth-down pass from Daniel Jones to cost the Giants the game.
Both Nabers and Barkley then saw their drops turn into easy runs for the opposition offense.
“I could sit here and complain and be upset about it, or I could be a professional athlete and go back to the table and take the lick and move on and get better from it,” Barkley said. “I’ve done that game many times. I’ve missed that game before. I just got better. I let my team down. I got the man up to it, I got to own it, what I did. I can promise those guys in this dressing room I will go better than him.
Barkley stubbed his toe on the heels of an interesting “Rich Eisen Show” interview last Friday that covered the running back’s perception of his Giants departure. Eisen, an early ESPN standout who was allowed to leave for the NFL Network, said he has a chip on his shoulder to this day and wondered if Barkley felt the same way.
“I spent seven years at ESPN before I went to NFL Network, and ESPN was my professional identity,” Eisen said. “They gave me my start. They drafted me if you want, right? But they let me walk. They let me walk somewhere else, and you know, it’s a chip. It’s still a chip in it — I’m 22 years old on the NFL Network , it’s still a chip for me. But I was always surprised, you know?
“And I wonder,” said Eisen, “if it leaves a chip with you. But trust me, everything has worked out for me. I’m very happy with everything that worked out with the opportunity it gave me to be let go. But I wonder if you have a chip on it.”
Barkley said it was a good analogy for his situation.
“That’s a great question, and no one has ever presented that question to me (in this way), and I agreed,” Barkley said. “It leaves a chip on your shoulder. But I always have a chip on my shoulder no matter what. I feel like God has blessed me with a tremendous talent, and I want to go out there and try to be one of the best running backs to play the game.”
“I studied the greats, and the saying ‘study the greats to become greater,'” Barkley added. “So that left me with a little chip on my shoulder? Did it hurt a bit? Yes, of course. But I’m thankful for the opportunity, and sometimes they say the grass isn’t always greener. But looking here, my family is happy, I am happy, I smile more. Everything about me is on the rise.”
Barkley explained that the “chip is on my shoulder not just because the Giants let me walk, just because there’s something I want to do, I’m on a mission,” he explained. “I want to achieve. That starts to return to be consistent.”
One part of the Giants’ decision to let Barkley walk that he appreciated, however, was seeing how much co-owner John Mara didn’t want Barkley to sign in Philadelphia. Barkley said he wasn’t aware until he watched HBO’s “Hard Knocks” that Mara was concerned about him joining the rival Eagles.
“Not really,” Barkley said, “but I thank Mr. Mara and also Mr. (Steve) Tisch and his two families for giving me the opportunity and writing me here. And you can see firsthand how much I they really appreciated it. They always showed it to me when I was there, but you see that on TV, so that definitely left a special place in my heart. And I still have a special place in my heart for their families .
“I know ESPN gave you the opportunity, (and) that’s how I saw it,” Barkley told Eisen. “They are the ones who gave me the opportunity to be drafted. Things didn’t play out the way I would have liked to play out there, but even though I passed, it’s not like my career was over . And in my mind it’s just beginning. I have a new opportunity, and I feel like I’m off to a good start.”
Barkley countered that “during the time leading up to the negotiations before we hit free agency, I hadn’t really heard from (the Giants) before that time, so I had an idea of what was going to happen.
“Obviously everyone has to see ‘Hard Knocks,'” he said. “I wasn’t really surprised by that. But I saw it as a blessing. I am in a new chapter. I’m thankful for all those guys here in New York for the six years I had here. I learned a lot. I feel like I wouldn’t be the player I am today or the man I am today without my time today.”
“Now I’m in a new chapter, and I’m super excited about it and blessed for the opportunity and focused on taking advantage of the opportunities I have here,” he added. “And (we’re) off to a good start. (I) have to be consistent. That’s my whole mentality for the season is how consistent can I be? That starts preparing for week 2.”
On Monday, he did not lose that consistency, in a game where the Eagles were without top receiver AJ Brown (hamstring) in the lineup. That’s what Barkley said he’s trying to do, though: have the same impact on the game every week. Obviously, the idea is to contribute in a big way to victories.
“Be consistent. Every day,” he said. “Someone challenged me to see how consistent I can be.”
Barkley’s fall prevented the Eagles from improving to 2-0 and moving into sole possession of first place in the NFC East. Instead, they are locked in a three-way tie atop the division with Washington and Dallas with the 0-2 Giants being in the finals alone.
An Oct. 20 Eagles visit to MetLife Stadium in Week 7 looms on the horizon as the Giants scramble to try and get their first win of the season Sunday in Cleveland and capitalize on Philly’s stumble in Week 2.
