Ever since Saquon Barkley signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, fans circled Week 7 on their calendars. That's because Barkley would return to MetLife Stadium to take on his former team, the New York Giants. In the days leading up to the game, Barkley had a somewhat naive expectation that Giants fans would not boo him. But the reality is Giants fans were very upset with him for signing with their literal enemy.
Barkley was greeted by loud boos as soon as he stepped onto the field for the Eagles' first offensive drive. In fact, Barkley told FOX that he saw Giants fans burning his jersey while on the way to the stadium. But Barkley did get his revenge on in the second quarter.
Barkley exploded for a huge 55-yard gain down the left sideline. Then, shortly afterwards, Barkley ran up the middle of the line of scrimmage for a three-yard touchdown.
.@Saquon scores against his former team!
— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024
📺: #PHIvsNYG on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/2zGWWrlScy
Giants fans get trolled after Saquon Barkley runs over former team
Given that the Giants were booing loudly and burning Barkley's jersey, they were mocked ruthlessly after their former running back scored a touchdown.
Saquon scored a TD at Metlife sooner than Daniel Jones has this year
— KSIXI (@KSIXI) October 20, 2024
The boobirds are out at MetLife for the Giants pic.twitter.com/Y4HSgQu2XR
— Eagles Fan Central (@EagleFanCentral) October 20, 2024
Statement Sunday: If you are burning Saquon’s jersey today you just don’t get it and probably never will.
— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) October 20, 2024
You certainly don’t have to root for him - but that guy was everything for the #Giants and begged to stay. Deserves some measure of respect regardless where he wound up.
Giants fans should be booing Daniel Jones instead of Saquon Barkley
— Stefan Bondy (@SbondyNBA) October 20, 2024
Giants fans (mainly me) about to make some therapists really rich over the next few months 😂
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) October 20, 2024
One of the takeaways from that touchdown was that Barkley managed to score one this season before quarterback Daniel Jones, who has been the subject of fan ire.
While Jones has played better since the Week 1 disaster, where he was booed on the way to his car in the parking lot, there wasn't a lot for fans to cheer about in the first half. After the Eagles took a 14-0 lead, the Giants fanbase directed their anger toward the offense, Jones, and head coach Brian Daboll.
In the first half, Barkley had 85 total yards from scrimmage. Meanwhile, the Giants offense picked up just 76 yards. And you wonder why the Giants fans at MetLife Stadium booed the team?
As long as the Giants continue to play poorly and Barkley plays well for the Eagles, the decision to let him walk in free agency will come back to haunt them for quite some time, something that team owner John Mara didn't want to happen.