Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley had support from a ton of bettors to score a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in their wild card playoff game Sunday night.
Barkley was given the ultimate opportunity, but proved that not only was he the best running back in the NFL during the 2024 season, but he was also the smartest.
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Eagles running back Saquon Barkley leaves the field after the wild card playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
He took a handoff with 1:09 left and ran it 17 yards. He had a wide open field in front of him and could have scored if he wanted, but decided to slide to ultimately kill the rest of the clock and secure an Eagles victory.
An anytime touchdown bet on Barkley was the most popular pro of the day at BetMGM, according to Yahoo Sports. He was -119 to score a touchdown and the third most popular stage in betting on ESPNBet, the network reported.
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Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts hands off the ball to running back Saquon Barkley during the playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Regardless, Barkley said the stats don’t matter at this point.
“Statistics don’t matter. The only stat that matters is winning,” he said via Pro Football Talk. “Whether we throw for 400 yards, run for 400 yards or win 3-0, I don’t care, to be honest. I just want to win.”
Barkley added that it wasn’t “tempting” to score, but rather it was more important to score first and stay down.
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley runs with the ball against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
He finished with 119 yards on 25 carries. Philadelphia won the game 22-10.
