WATCH: Saquon Barkley misses kick at career-high mark to let ‘Eagles’ young guys eat’

In his homecoming game in New York, Saquon Barkley crushed the Giants with a touchdown and 176 yards rushing, leading the Eagles to a 28-3 win.

But by the fourth quarter, he was just 13 yards away from his career high of 189 yards, set in 2019, and still had plenty of time to reach and then break that mark.

Head coach Nick Sirianni said after the game that he informed his running back of the important opportunity and encouraged him to return to the game.

According to Sirianni, Barkley threw the pass so the reserves could play instead, and the Eagles released NFL Films’ recording of that conversation on the sidelines Monday afternoon.

“I’d rather see young boys eat,” Barkley told Sirianni.

Watch the clip below…

“I usually like to keep my conversations with the guys private,” Sirianni said after Sunday’s win, making an apparent exception for Barkley. “Frank Reich always told me, ‘Make sure we know when someone is on the verge of doing something really special,’ because it’s hard to do. It’s hard to replicate that or break the record or anything. It’s similar to (DeVonta Smith) breaking the single-season rookie record a couple years ago. We really wanted to achieve this for him.

“WITHo that was on our minds because they told me from the box that he was close to the peak of his career, and I sat down next to him and said, “Listen, this is where you are and this is what it is.” He looked at me and said, “I mean, that thought gives me goosebumps, like this guy is such a great teammate and all he cares about is winning.” He looked at me and said, “Let the other guys eat.”

“I was like, ‘You’re special, man.’ He’s a special player. He is a special person. I read everything all the Giants players said about him. They said there would be a war, but they all love him and I know this football team loves him.”

The Eagles faithful too, especially after the release of this video.

The Eagles’ offense has struggled to fully execute a consistent game plan, but Barkley, since signing with the team as a free agent this offseason, has shown all the off-the-field strength the organization could hope for—much to the growing embarrassment of Joe Schon after how the offseason “Hard Knocks” showed how New York’s general manager simply let the Giants’ biggest star of the last decade essentially go straight to Philadelphia.

It’s been a surprisingly tough season so far for the Eagles, marked by big wins but also a lot of problems that could have cost them, and in some cases already have.

But Week 7 was a good one, ending with a win over a division rival and the most thorough effort of the year, with Barkley the star of it all.

“This guy is selfless,” Sirianni said. “This guy is a player and I can’t say enough good things about him.”

Follow Nick on Twitter: @itssnick