The best single game rushing performance of Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley's career was within sight this past Sunday.
But Barkley would finish his first game back at MetLife Stadium since he parted ways with the New York Giants just 13 rushing yards short of what would have been his career high. Barkley's day ended with a still impressive 176 rushing yards.
The Philadelphia Eagles sideline was well aware that Barkley was on the cusp of securing the best game of his NFL career. In the fourth quarter, head coach Nick Sirianni even offered the star running back a chance to re-enter the game.
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The Eagles verified X, formerly known as Twitter, shared a video from NFL Films showing Barkley turning down Sirianni's tempting offer.
"I'd rather see the young boys eat," Barkley told Sirianni.
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Sirianni recalled what Frank Reich taught him years ago about staying on top of information so that a coach can do everything in their power to help a player achieve those special moments whenever the opportunity presents itself. Sirianni was Reich's offensive coordinator with the Indianapolis Colts from 2018-20.
"I usually like to keep my conversations with guys private," Sirianni said after the Week 7 game. "Frank Reich would always say to me 'Make sure we know when somebody's on the verge of doing something really special' because it's hard to do that. It's hard to recapture that, or breaking a record or whatever it is. It's similar to [DeVonta Smith] breaking the rookie single-season record a couple of years ago. We really wanted to get that for him."
Barkley ultimately seemed more interested in prioritizing his teammates and allowing them the opportunity to showcase their abilities to close out the dominating 28-3 win over the Giants, instead of setting a new mark for himself.
"So that was on our mind because I got the word from the box that he was close to his career high, and I sat there with him and I said, 'Listen, here's where you are, and here's what it is.' He looked at me and he said – I mean this gives me chills to think about, like this guy is such a great teammate and all he cares about is winning. He looked at me and he said, 'Let the other guys eat.'"
"I was like 'You're special, dude.' He's a special player. He's a special person. I read all the stuff that all the Giants players were saying about him. They said it was gonna be war, but they all love him, and I know this football team loves him."
While New York general manager Joe Schoen did have conversations with Barkley and his agent during the offseason, he appeared to stop short of formally offering the star running back a new deal. The Giants' handling of Barkley's situation was documented on HBO's "Hard Knocks."
A clip from the program showed Giants co-owner and CEO John Mara telling Schoen he was "going to have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia."
Barkley and the Eagles will travel to Ohio later this week for matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 27. The Pittsburgh Steelers host the Giants for Week 8 of "Monday Night Football."
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