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Saquon Barkley Slides Down in Classy Move to Secure Eagles Playoff Victory Over Packers

The Philly running back still finished Sunday with 119 yards on the ground.
Barkley gave up a touchdown to secure Phily the win.
Barkley gave up a touchdown to secure Phily the win. | Screenshot via @Covers on X.

Saquon Barkley doesn't care about his stats—he cares about his team winning. We know that based on his reaction to being told by head coach Nick Sirianni that he'd be sitting to close out the regular season and he wouldn't be breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record.

In the Philadelphia Eagles' victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon, the 27-year-old running back showed off that same selflessness.

With the game in hand and just over a minute on the clock, quarterback Jalen Hurts handed the ball to Barkley—who had a clear shot to score a touchdown from nearly 80 yards out. Knowing that they could kneel it out and secure the win, the running back decided to slide instead of hauling it to the end zone.

Take a look:

"They told me I probably should have took a little bit more, Barkley told FOX's Erin Andrews of his teammates' reaction after the game. "At the end of the day the most important thing in the playoffs is winning and advancing,"

Classy.

Barkley still finished Sunday's contest with 119 yards on 25 carries and helped the Eagles advance to the divisional round of the NFC playoffs. Their opponent for next weekend is still TBD.


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Published | Modified
 Mike Kadlick
MICHAEL KADLICK

Mike Kadlick is a senior NFL news writer for Sports Illustrated. He’s also a New England Patriots reporter for CLNS Media, where he hosts the Patriots Daily podcast and covers the beat from Gillette Stadium. Before joining SI, Kadlick worked at WEEI sports radio in Boston. He holds a master’s degree in public relations from Boston University. When Kadlick’s not covering football, he can be found running, spending time with his wife and dog, and enjoying all things pizza.