Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley had the backing of a ton of bettors to score a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in their wild-card playoff game on Sunday evening.
Barkley had the ultimate opportunity, but proved that not only was he the best running back in the NFL during the 2024 season, but he was also the smartest.
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Eagles running back Saquon Barkley leaves the field after the wild-card playoff game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
He took a handoff with 1:09 left in the game and ran it for 17 yards. He had a wide-open field in front of him and could have scored if he wanted to, but decided to slide to eventually kill the rest of the clock and secure an Eagles victory.
An anytime touchdown bet on Barkley was the most popular pro of the day at BetMGM, according to Yahoo Sports. He was -119 to score a touchdown and the third most-popular leg of parlays at ESPNBet, the network reported.
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Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts hands the ball off to running back Saquon Barkley during the playoff game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Regardless, Barkley said stats didn’t matter at that point.
“Stats don’t matter. The only stat that matters is the win,” he said, via Pro Football Talk. “Whether we throw for 400 yards, rush for 400 yards or win 3-0, I don’t give a f—, to be honest. I just want to win.”
Barkley added that it wasn’t “tempting” to score but rather it was more important to get the first down and stay down.
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Eagles running back Saquon Barkley runs with the ball against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
He finished with 119 yards on 25 carries. Philadelphia won the game, 22-10.
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