Saquon Barkley has monster debut as Eagles beat Packers in Brazil

There was a memorable scene in “Hard Knocks: Offseason” in which New York Giants co-owner John Mara tells his general manager Joe Schoen that he didn’t want to see Saquon Barkley leave in free agency. Especially to the Philadelphia Eagles. It was brought up roughly a million times on social media Friday night.

“I’ll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I’ll tell you that,” Mara said.

Mara might not fall asleep for a few days after Friday night’s game. Philadelphia Eagles fans might not either. Same for Green Bay Packers fans but for a much different reason.

Barkley was a game changer for the Eagles’ offense in a shootout 34-29 win over the Packers in São Paulo, Brazil. He became the second player in Eagles history to score three touchdowns in his debut, joining Terrell Owens in 2004.

The game had an unexpected turn with six seconds left when Packers quarterback Jordan Love had his foot pinned underneath an Eagles defender as he was being brought down. Love was down on the field in pain and helped off while backup Malik Willis came on to finish the game at quarterback. The Packers will hope that Love’s injury doesn’t cost him any games. When asked about Love’s status postgame, head coach Matt LaFleur said, “I don’t know.”

Barkley used all of his skills to beat the Packers. He had a great reception on a deep pass, exploded through a hole for his first touchdown run and bulled his way into the end zone for his third score.

The Eagles didn’t have everything ironed out in their first game this season. But they already know that they added a star on offense who might carry them as they figure things out. The Eagles have to be fired up about what their offense could look like with Barkley making plays at running back.

Eagles and Packers hit big plays

The game had a lot of scoring but it wasn’t always pretty. Both teams had trouble with the turf, with players on each side slipping. That seemed to get a little better in the second half as teams…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-09-07 03:46:50

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