Eagles’ Saquon Barkley had a blast in his first NFL home playoff game

Howie Roseman pulled Saquon Barkley aside in the days leading up to Sunday’s 22-10 wild-card win over Green Bay, alerting the NFL’s rushing champion what the playoffs would feel like in South Philly. Barkley played six seasons without experiencing a home postseason game.

“Just wait,” Roseman told him.

Barkley ignored it. He played in college at the Linc, played against the Eagles at the Linc, played for the Eagles at the Linc, and even came here with the Giants for a playoff game. How much different could it be?

“I downplayed it,” said Barkley, who ran for 119 yards on 25 carries. “I didn’t know there was another level they could take it to. From playing against them, the experience there. But also a Thursday night game, a Sunday night game, or a 1 o’clock game against the Carolina Panthers. The way that the fans show up. They love this. They bleed this. I kind of downplayed this.

“I want to apologize to the fans. I didn’t think there was another level they could take it to. I’m assuming there’s another level they’re going to take it to next time. I’m super excited. It helps. You can see the impact it has on our games. The beauty is that we’re guaranteed another one.”

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Barkley’s first postseason home game was not his most memorable game in a season full of memorable ones. He didn’t score a TD and clawed out his 100th yard on his second-to-last carry. But it was a win.

“We won,” Barkley said. “I think that’s the most important thing. I know a lot of people are going to get into stats, how we perform, or we’re rusty. The reality is in this locker room the only thing that matters is winning football games whether we win 45-44 or 3-0. That’s our mentality and that’s our mentality for the rest of the playoffs. We’re going to stick to that.”

Perhaps the Eagles could find solace that they advanced to the divisional round without relying solely on Barkley. They had four takeaways, didn’t turn the ball over, and did enough to overcome an offense that struggled to find a rhythm after scoring 90 seconds into the game. It wasn’t the team’s best game of the season. But the Eagles are moving on.

“That’s football,” Barkley said. “That’s playoff football, to be honest. It doesn’t matter how it looks. It doesn’t matter about the stat lines. Only one stat matters and that’s the column with the wins and losses. If you get the win, you advance and get to play next week. That’s the only thing that matters.”

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The game was Barkley’s 12th 100-yard rushing effort of the season, but the team’s most impressive run belonged to Dallas Goedert, who treated Green Bay defensive back Carrington Valentine like an annoying gnat as he swatted him three times en route to a 24-yard catch-and-run TD. The score was a relief, coming five plays after Green Bay cut the Eagles’ lead to seven in the third quarter. Goedert didn’t just score but seemed to send a message with each stiff arm.

“He’s a dog,” Barkley said. “I’ve known that for a long time.”

Barkley had a chance on his final carry to pad his rushing total as he may have been able to finish his first postseason home game with a 76-yard TD.

“I was hoping he would score a touchdown,” left tackle Jordan Mailata said. “Just to make up for our errors.”

He instead slid to the turf after 17 yards, allowing the Eagles to keep possession and run out the clock. Barkley said he knew a first down would end the game.

“No mas,” he said. “You never know, if I break that long run and I keep running and I pull a hammy. Or someone is chasing me and they pull a hammy and we lose a guy for next week. Get down, put a smile on your face, and move on.”

Barkley played air guitar on the sideline as the game ended and the crowd roared. Roseman was right. His first home playoff game was special.

“I loved it,” Barkley said. “The beauty of that is we get another home game. I’m excited to see the next level they take it to.”