For Saquon Barkley, it would’ve been poetic. A script destined for the next set of documentary pitch meetings. For the Giants, it would’ve been the perfect storm to top all perfect storms, a chain of events dating back to March — when Barkley left the only NFL team he’d ever played for and signed with their NFC East rival in free agency — that culminated at Lincoln Financial Field in Week 18, with Barkley trying to cobble together the final yards he needed to set the NFL’s single-season rushing record and a plane carrying the message “TY NY for No. 26” flying over the stadium.

Owner John Mara said he wouldn’t sleep if Barkley signed with the Eagles. This would’ve been his worst nightmare if he ever did.

Until Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni announced Wednesday that Barkley, among other starters, would be held out of Sunday’s game due to rest reasons ahead of the playoffs, that was a scenario the Giants were staring down in what would’ve been a humiliating final chapter of their season.

Barkley needed only 101 yards to rewrite Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record. It dominated headlines after Barkley’s 167-yard game in Week 17 kept the possibility alive. The Giants, who lost 10 consecutive games at one point and were on track for the No. 1 pick, being the final opponent added another layer to Barkley’s quest. They had countless opportunities to make him a piece of their core long into the future. And that, despite Barkley publicly stating he wanted to be a Giant For Life, never materialized.