Saquon Barkley knew who was chasing him down, and decided to rub it in.
The former Giants running back broke off a 62-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter of Sunday’s divisional round playoff game to put the Eagles up 13-7 at Lincoln Financial Field, but before crossing into the end zone, he looked back and saw Rams rookie linebacker Jared Verse running after him.
The same Jared Verse who told the Los Angeles Times that he “hate(s)” Eagles fans, calling them “so annoying.”
Barkley looked back at Verse multiple times while slowing down as he approached the end zone, a way of taunting Verse over his comments.
Barkley was asked about Verse’s comments in the lead-up to the game.
“Probably not the smartest thing to say when you’re coming to Philadelphia,” Barkley said.
Verse did walk near the stands during warmups and held his hand to his ear as Eagles fans booed him.
Barkley’s touchdown run came on a third-and-4 from the Eagles’ 38-yard line and marked his first playoff score with the Eagles; he scored twice with the Giants two years ago. The Eagles led 13-10 at the half.
His touchdown comes on the heels of his standout performance in a wild-card win over the Packers, in which he ran 25 times for 119 yards.
After six seasons with the Giants, Barkley signed a three-year, $37.75 million contract with $26 million guaranteed last offseason with the Eagles, and he went on to have a career year.
His 345 carries, 2,005 yards rushing and 13 rushing touchdowns were all career-highs; he did that in 16 games, resting in Week 18 while he was 100 yards away from Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record.
It was a rough week for the reputation of Philly fans after Ryan Caldwell was caught on video spewing vile comments at a female Packers fan last week, calling her a “dumb c–t.”
Caldwell was subsequently banned from Lincoln Financial Field and fired from his job at BCT Partners, a DEI-focused management consulting firm.
