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Saquon Barkley ensured his magical season would continue when he opted to slide after breaking free for what would have been a lengthy touchdown to cap off a win over the Packers. It was a smart decision that also led to a brutal bad beat for plenty of bettors who were relying on him to score at some point during the contest.
Saquon Barkley may not end up securing the Most Valuable Player award that seems to be Josh Allen’s to lose, but he was easily the MVP for the Eagles based on what transpired during his first season in Philadelphia.
The former Giant led the league in rushing yards during the regular season with 2,005 while taking it to the house 13 times during a campaign where the Eagles finished at 14-3. The team punched its ticket to the playoffs at the start of December, and on Sunday, they were hoping to avoid a second consecutive one-and-done showing when they faced off against the Packers at home.
Philly had a 10-0 lead heading into halftime, and while Green Bay battled back to narrow its deficit to six points at the end of the third quarter, their opponents answered with a couple of field goals that essentially put the game out of reach and seemingly sealed the victory when Quinyon Mitchell picked off Jordan Love during the first play after the two-minute warning.
The Eagles did need to convert a first down on the ensuing drive to avoid giving the ball back, and Saquon Barkley did exactly that when he broke through the defense on 2nd-and-6 for what would have almost certainly been a 76-yard touchdown if he hadn’t opted to slide at around the 40-yard line.
Surely this slide by Saquon Barkley didn’t cost anybody any money 🤣🤣
pic.twitter.com/cCcWSAbrxY— TMSPN.com (@sportsgossip) January 13, 2025
Jalen Hurts subsequently took a knee to cap off the win that earned the Eagles the right to face off against either the Vikings or the Rams next Sunday. After the game, Barkley explained his decision to go down as “situational football” primarily intended to avoid a potential injury while adding, “Only one stat matters and that’s the column with the wins and losses.”
However, that was a pretty unfortunate development for the many people who had bet on Barkely to score a touchdown during the game, as ESPN reports that particular wager was “the third-most-popular leg of all NFL parlays Sunday” on its betting platform while noting no other player generated more action on that specific prop bet than the RB.
Ouch.