Saquon Barkley had the chance to pad his stats late in the Philadelphia Eagles’ wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
The Eagles held a comfortable lead and just needed to run the clock out to advance to the divisional round, and Barkley got loose on a run with no one in front of him. Rather than taking the big yards and a touchdown, he slid to end the play and eventually run out the clock.
He said after the game that he opted for the slide because he felt it was the right move situationally and to avoid injury.
“Situational football. First down ends the game,” Barkley said. “You never know. I break that long one, I keep running, I pull a hammy, someone’s chasing me, they pull a hammy, we lose a guy for next week. Get down with a smile on your face and move on. That’s the thing that matters most.”
Saquon Barkley explains why he went down at the end of the game<br><br>Says not only was it the right thing to do situationally but also it prevented anyone from getting hurt on the play if he kept running <a href="https://t.co/122EFSNqu4">pic.twitter.com/122EFSNqu4</a>
He also said that continuing to win is more important than his stats.
“It don’t matter the statline. Only one stat matters and that’s the column with the wins and losses. We get the win and we keep going and advancing. We get to play next week. That’s the only thing that matters and we’re going to keep doing that.”
"The only stat that matters is winning"<br><br>"That's playoff football"<br><br>Saquon Barkley <a href="https://t.co/HSI1pzJx4k">pic.twitter.com/HSI1pzJx4k</a>
While it was the right call, Barkley said he got some grief from his teammates after.
“They told me I probably should’ve took a little bit more,” he said. “But at the end of the day, the most important thing in the playoffs is winning and advancing, no matter how it looks.”
"A year ago I put out a tweet when I was on my couch watching playoff football that I gotta find a way to get back in it. So, I'm just happy to be here." <a href="https://twitter.com/ErinAndrews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ErinAndrews</a> spoke with <a href="https://twitter.com/saquon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@saquon</a> after the <a href="https://twitter.com/Eagles?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Eagles</a> win over the Packers to move onto the Divisional Round ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/CXlLnQZncN">pic.twitter.com/CXlLnQZncN</a>
Though Barkley didn’t bolster his numbers with a big run at the end of the game, he still had an impressive showing with 119 rushing yards on 25 carries. On a night when Philadelphia’s offense struggled, the first-year Eagle made sure his team advanced to see another playoff game.
Sunday’s wild-card matchup was just the third playoff game of Barkley’s career. The New York Giants made the postseason just one time during his six seasons there, so playing in high-stakes games such as Sunday’s is somewhat unfamiliar territory for Barkley.
He showed against the Packers that he’s ready to rise to the occasion and he’ll be looking to put together another big performance in the divisional round next week.
With Sunday’s win, the Eagles will now face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings or Los Angeles Rams. Philadelphia was far from the best version of itself against Green Bay, mostly because of its offensive issues, and the Eagles hope to come out strong next week to keep their Super Bowl hopes alive.
If Barkley continues to perform how he has all season, a championship would be well within reach for Philadelphia.
