Eagles Saquon Barkley silences the Birds in win against Giants

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley silenced his ardent critics at MetLife Stadium with a dominating performance against his former team, the New York Giants, on Sunday.

Barkley rushed for 176 yards on 17 carries (10.4 average) with a touchdown and added two catches for 11 yards before sitting out most of the fourth quarter as the Eagles cruised to a 28-3 win.

Boos rained down when Barkley and the Eagles’ offense took the field for the first time. Fans continued to express their displeasure toward Barkley, who left the Giants after six seasons and signed with the rival Eagles this season, every time he touched the ball.

But the booing became quieter with each big play by Barkley, and soon the crowd’s frustration began to shift toward the Giants’ anemic offense.

He took a 55-yard run down the left sideline early in the second quarter, reaching a career-best speed of 21.93 mph on the play — the second-fastest by a ball carrier this season (Brian Thomas, 22.15 mph).

Three plays later, Barkley’s teammates helped push him into the end zone from three yards out for the score.

Barkley has tried to remain level-headed this week – saying he didn’t want to make the game more than it was – but his performance tells the story of what this means to him. His 176 rushing yards were his most in a game at MetLife Stadium, and his 187 total yards were more than the entire Giants team combined on Sunday.