John Mara, Saquon Barkley
ArticlesFeaturedNFLBy Jessica Kleinschmidt on

Nobody was surprised by Saquon Barkley’s record-setting performance on Sunday. Not even Barkley.

Not in an egotistical way, but the value of his new Philadelphia Eagles squad brings out of him. A fresh start. It’s a far cry from his time with the New York Giants when they couldn’t agree to keep the running back who is now in the running for NFL MVP.


Just one decision to have the Giants not appear on the HBO docuseries Hard Knocks could have created a different narrative in the Barkley drama.

In September, a long-tenured NFL executive told The Athletic’s Mike Sando, “My feel is [team owner] John Mara, if not for Hard Knocks, would have put his foot down [to stop Barkley from leaving], but he didn’t want to be perceived as meddling.”

John Mara said he would be affected if things didn’t work out as Barkley headed into free agency this offseason after six seasons with the team.

“I’ll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I’ll tell you that,” Mara said during an episode of Hard Knocks, which aired in July. “Just being honest. I’ve been around enough players. He’s the most popular player we have by far.”

The Giants wanted Barkley back, but at their price.

The Eagles signed Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million deal over the offseason, and things are off to a fantastic start.

Sunday night’s 255-yard rushing performance in a 37-20 win over the Los Angeles Rams set a single-game Eagles franchise record. The ninth-most rushing yards in a game in league history.

“To be honest, I’m not surprised,” Barkley said, via the team’s website. “I didn’t know I would have this much success, (but) I’m thankful to be here. I’m thankful for the fresh start. A big reason why I wanted to come here (is) I felt like this is a spot where I could rewrite my story and show everyone the type of player that I feel like I can be and was meant to be, and it’s working out right now.”

During Barkley’s historic performance, fans were heard shouting, “MVP!” Even before this game, he’d been arguably the best running back in the league.

About Jessica Kleinschmidt

Jess is a baseball fan with Reno, Nev. roots residing in the Bay Area. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area.

View all posts by Jessica Kleinschmidt