This Sunday, February 9, the Super Bowl LIX will take place, which will pit the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams will battle it out for the Lombardi Trophy at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The game of the year will be packed with stars from both teams. For the Missouri team, it is clear that the leader of the team is none other than Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs quarterback is a living legend of American football and, for many, the best player of all time.
In front of him, as the Eagles’ standard-bearer, will be Saquon Barkley. The running back landed in Philadelphia this year, but has already taken over the team. After a season in which he has broken several personal records, he has established himself as one of the best players in the league. All this after his departure from the Giants, where they must be pulling their hair out after seeing the performance of the American player.
His departure from New York
Barkley landed in the NFL in 2018, after being selected second overall in the draft by the New York Giants. In his first campaign, he already showed his enormous potential with a mark of 2,028 total yards, which allowed him to be the Offensive Rookie of the Year. However, during the following seasons he was plagued by physical discomfort that forced him to miss several games. In 2020, he was out of action for almost the entire year after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament.
At this point, doubts arose in New York about a long-term renewal. Two seasons ago, Saquon played under the franchise tag after the two sides failed to reach an agreement. However, last year, the Giants decided not to use the tag again, so Barkley ended up in free agency.
In this situation, the New York team offered the running back an offer that was well below the player’s financial expectations, as they were not willing to pay so much for a running back who had also had numerous physical problems. In short, they showed him the door and Saquon, who would have liked to be a “Giant for life”, was forced to leave. He went to Philadelphia, the eternal rival. The Eagles did give him what he asked for (a three-year, $37.75 million contract) and time has shown that they were not wrong to do so.
A dream season
The running back’s season has exceeded all expectations. Already in his debut against the Packers (132 total yards and three touchdowns), he showed a glimpse of what he would be capable of doing throughout the year. It was a campaign to remember, in which he came close to breaking the record for yards by a running back, held by Eric Dickerson, who had 2,105 yards in 16 games with the Los Angeles Rams. Barkley finished with 2,005 yards and 15 touchdowns. A very good figure, even more so knowing that many of the touchdowns ‘have been taken away’ with the famous ‘tush push’ of the Eagles.
Injuries have not been a problem for him throughout the season, which has allowed us to see an explosive Saquon, with a huge ability to find gaps, cut and execute big plays. All this has led him to be the Offensive Player of the Year and one of the three candidates for MVP.
Now, after not being valued by his lifelong team, he is on the verge of winning the Super Bowl as a star for the eternal rival. Surely, the Giants, who have barely won three games this season, will long regret the decision they made.