Saquon Barkley enjoyed the perfect debut with the Philadelphia Eagles as he achieved a feat he managed only once with the New York Giants.
The running back inspired the Eagles to a 34-29 victory over the Green Bay Packers in their NFL opener on Friday in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Barkley also wrote himself into the record books after he scored three touchdowns during the game.
Barkley achieved the feat in his debut game, equalling the amount of times he played a three touchdown game for the Giants in 76 appearances. The 27-year-old finished with 109 yards rushing and became only the second player in franchise history to score three touchdowns in his first game after Terrell Owens in 2004.
The former Penn State star also became the first player to score in South America with the league making its bow in the continent. Barkley got the Eagles on the board early in the second quarter when he hauled in an 18-yard pass from Jalen Hurts in the left corner of the end zone. "Yeah, I'm the first person to ever score in South America. That's cool," Barkley said.
Quarterback Hurts lauded the debutant's performance and couldn't hide his excitement at playing alongside him. "He had a hell of a game tonight. It's exciting to watch him play. I'm happy that he's on our side. Just going to keep pressing forward. But what a debut for him."
Eagles' tackle Lane Johnson also waxed lyrical about his new teammate, as he said: "From the first catch, he was just balling, Every time he scored, I was hauling ass up there trying to celebrate with him." Johnson would get two more opportunities later in the game to join in as Barkley scored a pair of rushing scores to complete a hat-trick of touchdowns in the land where soccer is a way of life.
Barkley signed a three-year $37.75million deal with the Eagles in March of which $26m is guaranteed and could increase to $46.75m with bonuses after entering free agency having spent his NFL career with the Giants to date.
Playing behind the offensive line and alongside playmakers such as Hurts, A.J Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, Barkley admitted his idea of playing at the Eagles was "kind of similar to this, I guess you could say."
He continued: "I think it's so special that out of all the guys we have on this team that's so talented, and today might have been my day scoring touchdowns, it was never no hate, no none of that. It was like, 'Go ahead, go get four.' That's what you need with a team like this that has so many stars. It's going to continue be like that going into the season."
