Saquon Barkley’s playoff wish comes true with the Eagles’ win over the Packers

The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers 22-10 on Wild Card Weekend. Philadelphia won the NFC East this year with 14 wins and they made the most of their home field advantage. Saquon Barkley was again the star, leading the Eagles with 119 yards. Barkley referenced a social media post from last year when talking about winning with Fox’s Erin Andrews.

“A year ago I tweeted while I was on the couch watching playoff football that I had to find a way to get back into it. So I’m happy to be here.”

That post Barkley mentioned reads: “Nothing like playoff football! I have to go back!!” The timestamp places his post sometime during the Bills-Steelers Wild Card Weekend matchup last season. Even in an explosion, Buffalo won that game 31-17Barkley knew he wanted to get back to the playoffs. He did it with the Eagles on Sunday and showed why he’s itching to get back.

Barkley played in two playoff games with the New York Giants, beating the Minnesota Vikings and losing to the Eagles after the 2022 season. This was his first home playoff game and he will have one more in the Divisional Round.

Saquon Barkley is the key to the Eagles’ Super Bowl run

The Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2022 and then won 10 of their first 11 games in 2023. Then the bottom fell out last year, losing six of their last seven to end a disappointing campaign. Bringing in Barkley this offseason was their big response to that collapse. He made history with their offense and led them to two more Super Bowl victories.

Barkley was 100 yards short of tying Eric Dickerson all-time record this season. He became the ninth player in history to have a 2,000-yard rushing season and is in serious contention for Offensive Player of the Year honors. But the playoffs are what’s most important in Philly, and he proved he can win those games Sunday, too.

The Eagles flew out of the gate against the Packers, forcing a fumble on first down. Barkley made a big run after trying to put them in the Red Zone. Although he didn’t score a touchdown in this game, Barkley made plenty of impact plays like this one.

The Eagles await the results of the final two games of the weekend to find out their opponent. If the Commanders beat the Buccaneers, they will get their division rivals again. If the Bucs win, they will get the winner of Monday’s Vikings-Rams game.

Christopher Hennessy is Associate MLB Editor at ClutchPoint, with additional expertise in NHL and golf. He graduated from Fordham University in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, and has work experience at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a reporter for the New York Islanders.