Saquon Barkley sacrificed his personal record to let a young Eagles teammate get playing time

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Nick Sirianni wanted to get Saquon Barkley a personal record, but the RB had other ideas

Saquon Barkley had a massive day Sunday against his old team.

In his first game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, the running back exploded for one of his best games ever in the NFL. Barkley ran for 176 yards on just 17 carries, averaging over ten yards per attempt. Barkley scored one touchdown against the Giants, and also ripped off this 55-yard burst along the left sideline early in the second quarter:

As the game wore on, and the Eagles held a commanding lead, head coach Nick Sirianni wanted to pull his starters, Barkley included. However, Sirianni also knew that Barkley was just 13 yards shy of his previous career-high mark for rushing yards in a game, set back in 2018 when Barkley was with the Giants in a game against Washington.

So Sirianni asked Barkley if he wanted that record, and the running back made it clear.

He wanted the backups to get some run.

In a video shared by the Philadelphia Eagles on social media, you can hear that exchange:

“You’re 13 yards away from your career high. I would love for you to get that, but that’s up to you,” said Sirianni.

“I’m good, let them eat,” said Barkley. “I’d rather see the young boys eat!”

Sounds like one heck of a teammate to us.