Eagles prepare to face Giants without Barkley and Hurts in final playoff tune-up – NFL

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley lost his chance to set the NFL season record. The Philadelphia Eagles running back will settle for an NFC East title, 2,000 rushing yards, a home playoff game — and the last laugh against his former team, the New York Giants.

After his season ended, Barkley trolled the Giants in an ad released this week for a sleeping pill.

“I hear some of you are having trouble sleeping,” Barkley said while lying in bed with a sleep mask on his forehead.

Barkley attacked the Giants months after his free agency was chronicled in the documentary series “Hard Knocks.”

In the crucial scene, Giants general manager Joe Schoen told Barkley that the Giants would not make him an offer or slap the franchise tag on him. Instead, the Giants let Barkley test the free agent market, a move that sent him to an NFC East rival.

“I’ll have trouble sleeping if Saquon goes to Philly, I’ll tell you that,” team owner John Mara told Schoen on the show. “As I told you, with enough players, he is by far the most popular player we have.”

Yeah, he’s also very popular in Philadelphia.

Barkley, however, won’t get the satisfaction of sticking with the Giants (3-13) and surpassing Eric Dickerson’s record of 2,105 rushing yards set in 1984.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni is resting Barkley — who signed a three-year contract with the Eagles for $26 million guaranteed — and most of his starters in what is a rather inconsequential regular-season home finale Sunday. The Eagles will treat it like a glorified preseason game before a home playoff game at the Linc against Washington or Green Bay.

Barkley was drafted by Penn State with the second overall pick in 2018. He found instant success in New York and rushed for 1,307 yards in his rookie season. Barkley totaled 5,211 yards and 35 touchdowns and made 288 receptions for 2,100 yards and 12 touchdowns in six years with the Giants.

He will be satisfied with 2,005 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in his first season with Philadelphia (13-3).

Not bad.

Not good enough for an NFL record.

“Yes, it would have been special to do it against the Giants,” Barkley said, “but not for the reasons (the media) would perceive it to be. At the end of the day, I have nothing but love and respect for those guys there. There’s a lot of coaches, trainers and strength guys that I put through hell. They helped me with my ACL, helped me with my injuries. I wouldn’t be the player I am. today without these guys too, so the circle would have been closed.

Barkley dodged one of the worst seasons in Giants history — and there have been plenty of those lately.

The Giants lose even if they win.

A rare victory — 45-33 against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday — put the Giants out of control for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

With the Eagles having little reason to play, the Giants could even reel off two straight wins and really hurt their draft position.

Watch Nabers

Receiver Malik Nabers caps a spectacular rookie season with the Giants. The No. 6 overall pick enters the final game with 104 receptions for 1,140 yards and six touchdowns, including catches of 31 and 59 yards and a career-high 171 receiving yards against the Colts. His reception total is the second highest in Giants history and is behind Steve Smith, who had 107 receptions in 2009. The Eagles held him to a season-low 41 yards on four catches earlier this season, his first game after missing two with a concussion. .

QB McKee

With Jalen Hurts expected to sit out while recovering from a concussion and backup quarterback Kenny Pickett nursing sore ribs, career third baseman Tanner McKee is expected to earn the majority of playing time against New York .

McKee impressed in the deadline against Dallas, throwing two TD passes of over 20 yards each on just four total pass attempts.

“I will be ready to hope to win the match,” he said. “I think it’s big. Every time I have the opportunity to get on the pitch, it’s very important for me to show what I can do.

McKee was a sixth-round pick in the 2023 draft and had only taken an NFL snap this past Sunday. His most notable play came on his first career touchdown pass, after which receiver AJ Brown threw the ball into the stands. The fan who caught the ball eventually returned the ball to McKee.

“This is my chance to play a significant number of snaps, a significant number of reps, to show what I’ve worked for all year,” McKee said.

The online game of giants

The Eagles battered New York’s offensive and defensive lines in a 28-3 victory at MetLife Stadium on October 20.

The Giants were held to 119 total yards, quarterbacks Daniel Jones and Drew Lock were sacked a combined eight times and the offense was 3 of 14 on third down.

Philadelphia totaled 269 yards on 45 carries, while Barkley gained 176 yards on 17 carries, an average of 10.4 yards.

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AP Sports Writer Tom Canavan in East Rutherford, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

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