Mother of Eagles' Saquon Barkley takes apparent shot at Giants after NFC Championship win

Running back Saquon Barkley was part of two playoff games and just a single win, both of which occurred in January 2023, during his time with the New York Giants that ran from the 2018 NFL Draft up until he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent last March. 

Shortly after Barkley scored three rushing touchdowns in Philadelphia's 55-23 win over the Washington Commanders in Sunday's NFC Championship Game, Tonya Johnson, Barkley’s mother, was asked why the 27-year-old didn't enjoy the same type of success with the Giants. 

"You really want me to answer that? Everybody else knows why it didn’t happen," she responded, as shared by Bob Brookover of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "It’s great for him to finally be somewhere where he was able to showcase his talent without people talking about this or that and hearing that running backs don’t deserve this or deserve that. Yeah, OK, now we see."

The Giants routinely failed to build a top-tier offensive line before and after the club signed quarterback Daniel Jones to a contract in March 2023 that let New York retain Barkley's rights for the subsequent season via the franchise tag. As recently as this past fall, analysts defended the Giants for letting Barkley hit the open market last offseason in part "because of the nature of the running back [position] and the multi-year investment in the older running back." 

Barkley could now become an all-time great free-agency acquisition if he helps the Eagles defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. Per the StatMuse website, he ended the regular season with a league-best 2,283 yards from scrimmage as the Giants went 3-14. If Barkley gains 30 yards on the ground against the Chiefs, he will break Terrell Davis' record for the most rushing yards combined from Week 1 of a regular season through that campaign's postseason tournament (2,476). 

"I’m excited," Barkley’s mother said about seeing her son play in a Super Bowl on his birthday (Feb. 9). "It has been a long time coming. It has been a dream of his since he has been a kid." 

As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Barkley second behind only Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes (+110) among the betting favorites at +250 odds to claim the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award. That same outlet listed the Chiefs as 1.5-point favorites over the Eagles. 

Barkley will have another opportunity to prove doubters and the Giants wrong when he steps onto the Caesars Superdome turf on the second Sunday of February.