Eagles’ Saquon Barkley torments NFL bettors as he opts for a slide instead of a late TD
The star of the Philadelphia Eagles Saquon Barkley was backed by plenty of bookies to score against the Green Bay Packers in their wild-card playoff game Sunday night.
Barkley had the ultimate opportunity, but he proved that he is not only the best running back in the NFL during the 2024 season, but he was also the smartest.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS REPORTS ON FOXNEWS.COM
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley leaves the field after a wild-card playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
He took the handoff with 1:09 left in the game and ran it 17 yards. He had a wide open field in front of him and could have scored if he wanted, but he chose to slide to eventually kill the rest of the clock and secure the Eagles victory.
Barkley was the most popular professional of the day at BetMGM Yahoo Sports. He was -119 to score a touchdown and the third most popular parlay stock on ESPNBet, the network reported.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts hands the ball off to running back Saquon Barkley during a playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derick Hamilton)
Regardless, Barkley said the stats don’t matter at that point.
“Stats don’t matter. The only stat that matters is winning,” he said, via Talking about professional football. “Whether we throw for 400 yards, rush for 400 yards or win 3-0, I don’t really care, to be honest. I just want to win.”
Barkley added that there was no “temptation” to score, it was more important to get the first down and stay down.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
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 game22-10.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports broadcast on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
