Eagles prepare to play Giants without Barkley and Hurts in final tuneup for playoffs

PHILADELPHIA -- — Saquon Barkley lost his shot at the NFL season rushing record. The Philadelphia Eagles running back will settle for an NFC East title, 2,000 yards rushing, a home playoff game — and the last laugh against his old team, the New York Giants.

With his season over, Barkley trolled the Giants in an advertisement released this week for a sleep aid.

“I heard some of you were having trouble sleeping,” Barkley said as he lay in a bed with a sleep mask on his forehead.

Barkley needled the Giants months after his free agency was chronicled by the documentary series “Hard Knocks.”

In the crucial scene, Giants general manager Joe Schoen told Barkley the Giants would not make him an offer, nor stick the franchise tag on him. Rather, the Giants let Barkley test the free-agent market, a move that sent him to an NFC East rival.

“I’ll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I’ll tell you that,” team owner John Mara said to Schoen in the series. “As I’ve told you, just being around enough players, he’s the most popular player we have, by far.”

Yeah, he's pretty beloved in Philly, too.

Barkley, though, won't get the satisfying twist of sticking it to the Giants (3-13) and topping Eric Dickerson's rushing record of 2,105 yards set in 1984.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni is resting Barkley — who signed a three-year deal with the Eagles for $26 million guaranteed — and most of his starters in what is a rather inconsequential regular-season home finale Sunday. The Eagles will treat it as a glorified preseason game ahead of a home playoff game at the Linc against either Washington or Green Bay.

Barkley was drafted out of Penn State with the No. 2 overall pick in 2018. He was an instant success in New York and ran for 1,307 yards his rookie season. Barkley ran for 5,211 yards and 35 touchdowns and had 288 receptions for 2,100 yards and 12 TDs in six years with the Giants.

He'll settle for 2,005 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns in his first season with Philadelphia (13-3).

Not bad.

Just not good enough for an NFL record.

“Yeah, it would have been special to do it against the Giants,” Barkley said, “but not for the reasons how (the media) would perceive it to be. At the end of the day, I've got nothing but love and respect for those guys over there. There's lot of trainers and coaches and strength guys over that I put through hell. They helped me out with my ACL, helped me out with my injuries. I wouldn't be the player I am today without those guys, too, so it would have been a full-circle moment.”

Barkley dodged one of the worst seasons in Giants history — and there have been plenty of late.

The Giants lose even when they win.

A rare victory — 45-33 over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday — knocked the Giants out of control for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

With the Eagles having little to play for, the Giants might even make it two straight wins and really hurt their draft position.

Watching Nabers

Wide receiver Malik Nabers is capping a spectacular rookie season with the Giants. The No. 6 overall pick enters the final game with 104 receptions for 1,140 yards and six touchdowns, including scoring catches of 31 and 59 yards and a career-best 171 yards receiving against the Colts. His reception total is the second highest in Giants history and trails only Steve Smith, who had 107 receptions in 2009. The Eagles held him to a season-low 41 yards on four catches earlier this season, his first game after missing two with a concussion.

QB McKee

With Jalen Hurts expected to sit out as he recovers from a concussion and backup QB Kenny Pickett nursing sore ribs, career third-stringer Tanner McKee should earn the bulk of the playing time against New York.

McKee impressed in garbage time against Dallas, throwing two TD passes of more than 20 yards each on only four total passing attempts.

“I’ll be ready with the expectations to win the game,” he said. “I think it’s big. Any time that I get an opportunity to step on the field it’s super important for me to showcase what I can do.”

McKee was a sixth-round pick in the 2023 draft and had not taken an NFL snap until last Sunday. His most notable play was on his first career touchdown pass, after which wide receiver A.J. Brown chucked the football into the stands. The fan who caught the ball eventually returned the ball to McKee.

“This is my chance to play a significant amount of snaps, reps, to show what I've been working for this whole year,” McKee said.

Giants' line play

The Eagles beat up New York’s offensive and defensive lines in a 28-3 win at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 20.

The Giants were limited to 119 total yards, quarterbacks Daniel Jones and Drew Lock were sacked a total of eight times, and the offense was 3 of 14 on third down.

Philadelphia rushed for 269 yards on 45 carries, with Barkley gaining 176 yards on 17 carries, a 10.4-yard average.

--------

AP Sports Writer Tom Canavan in East Rutherford, New Jersey contributed to this report.

------

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl