It’s safe to say John Lopez hasn’t had a fun football season. A die-hard Giants fan since he can remember, the 31-year-old New Yorker watched each week as his beloved team stumbled to a 3-14 record with dysfunction both on and off the field.
But the person causing him the most pain wasn’t even on the roster.
“Every time I see Saquon Barkley running for a touchdown, it’s just like a total gut punch,” he told NBC News this week.
He’s referring, of course, to the Philadelphia Eagles’ superstar running back who played the past six seasons in New York. Drafted by the Giants in 2018 with the No. 2 overall pick, Barkley was the face of the franchise. He was the most dangerous offensive weapon they had and by far the most popular player on the team.
When Barkley arrived in New York, the team was in transition in the final years with quarterback Eli Manning, who led them to two Super Bowl wins. Barkley was heralded as the offensive weapon the Giants needed to get back to being title contenders, but issues up and down the roster kept that from happening.
MetLife Stadium used to be filled with blue and white jerseys with “Barkley” on the back. Yet at the Super Bowl on Sunday in New Orleans, he will run out of the tunnel in midnight green as the Giants still seem stuck in a never-ending rebuilding mode.
“Every Giants fan dies a little bit inside thinking about seeing Saquon Barkley, confetti everywhere, hoisting the Lombardi Trophy,” he said.
Barkley joined Philadelphia last offseason as a free agent on a three-year, $37.75 million deal. He earned that and then some, rushing for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns in the regular season. In the postseason, he has 442 yards on 66 carries (a 6.7-yard average) and five rushing scores.
New York fans are quick to point out that it didn’t have to be this way. A couple of years ago, the Giants had a chance to sign Barkley to a long-term deal and they instead opted to franchise tag him, meaning he would play one more season on a $10.1 million fully guaranteed deal and revisit contract negotiations later. However, when that time came, neither side could agree on a new contract to keep him in the Big Apple, and he became a free agent.
The exact reasons for letting him walk are unclear. Some point to Barkley’s age and injury concerns. Others point to the devaluing of running backs across the league.
Then there’s the four-year, $160 million contract extension the team gave to then-quarterback Daniel Jones in 2023. With their signal-caller demanding so much cap space, it didn’t make financial sense to also bring back their running back on a huge deal.
To make matters worse, the entire process was documented on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” for the world to see.
In a now-famous clip, Giants owner John Mara told general manager Joe Schoen he “would have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia.”
That’s exactly what happened.
“It’s horrible,” Alex Day, a host and content creator with regional sports channel, YES Network, said. “He goes from being the face of the franchise to not only doing what you knew he could always do, but he’s actually doing it with the team you hate most — more than the Cowboys, more than any other team. It’s like watching your ex-girlfriend kiss her new boyfriend live every single week, and you also know that her new boyfriend is much better looking than you.”
Dan Schneier, who hosts the Giants podcast “Big Blue Banter,” is quick to point out that Barkley wouldn’t have close to the same success had he stayed in New York. His incredible season is partially based on running behind arguably the best offensive line in the NFL and having a top quarterback and other offensive talent take pressure off him.
But even he admits that the most rational fans are at a loss right now when they see Barkley break off another run or hurdle backward over a defensive player.
“The Giants fan base is about as fractured and broken as I’ve seen it since I started covering the team, and probably since I started becoming a fan,” he said. “I don’t necessarily think it’s 100% tied to Saquon signing with the Eagles and free agency, but I think that’s exacerbated it. Ultimately what it comes down to is the team has been losing for a long time without any hope. The fan base is not confident at all in ownership. So the Saquon addition to that is like a cherry on top.”
To make matters worse, Jones — the player the Giants chose to build around — was released midseason after a 2-8 start. Extra salt was poured on the wound when he was seen this postseason in Barkley’s suite cheering on his old friend in a different uniform.
Despite questions about the franchise’s direction, Mara chose to bring back Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll for another season. Continuity, he said, was important in turning everything around.
Mara did, however, admit, “I’ve just about run out of patience” following a year that saw the Giants set franchise records for losses in a season, losses in a row and a winless record in the division.
They’ll head into the offseason with a couple new stars in receiver Malik Nabers and running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. but many holes to fill on both sides of the ball — most importantly at quarterback. New York holds the No. 3 pick in the upcoming NFL draft.
Giants supporters aren’t optimistic.
“This is the lowest fans have ever felt about the future of the organization,” Schneier said. “(Mara) is asking for patience and the fans aren’t giving it to him. … They’ve turned on the owner more than I’ve ever seen them turn on him.”
The Giants will look to build both in free agency and April’s draft. But before that can occur, they must endure one more game of Barkley, in the Super Bowl. He will have his work cut out for him against a Chiefs run defense that ranks in the top 10 in both yards allowed per carry (4.2) and yards allowed per game (106.7).
Day estimates that 80% of New York fans will root for Kansas City on Sunday. A three-peat is far more enjoyable than seeing a divisional opponent win a league title with your former star.
“Seeing Saquon holding the Lombardi Trophy in an Eagles jersey would give me nightmares,” he said. “I would never recover from that.”
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