Penn State fans will watch Saturday’s NFL playoffs— especially the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants with great interest, and Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders are the two biggest reasons.
Sure, plenty of Penn Staters would be watching the game anyway, what with the school having a large alumni base in both Pennsylvania (of course) and New Jersey.
But Barkley and Sanders— also referred to as “Saquon” and “Miles”— give the game an added element.
Saquon is one of the best and most popular players in Penn State history. Arriving in Happy Valley early in the James Franklin-era, Barkley became a star almost right away. He eclipsed 1,000 yards as a freshman, helped Penn State to its most recent Big Ten championship as a sophomore and averaged nearly six yards per carry as a junior, becoming the second overall pick in the 2018 Draft after the Giants took him. Barkley is second only to Evan Royster on the school’s all-time rushing list and first all-time with 43 touchdowns. Barkley’s backup at Penn State was a man named Miles.
Sanders didn’t put up the career numbers that Barkley did at Penn State, largely because he was behind the man himself on the depth chart. But Sanders made the most of his relatively brief time as Penn State’s RB1. He ended the 2018 season with 1,274 yards, nine touchdowns and a 5.8 yards per carry average. From there, Sanders went to the Eagles in the second round of the 2019 draft.
Barkley and Sanders have faced off before, with both teams being in the same division. But this is the first time they’ll be playing against each other in the postseason. The two have played big roles in getting their respective teams here. Both finished top five in the league in rushing yards, with Barkley fourth and Sanders fifth.
Sanders’s Eagles (14-3) are the NFC’s top seed, and Barkley’s Giants (10-7-1) came into the playoffs as the No. 6 seed. The Giants upset the No. 3 Minnesota Vikings 31-24 in Minneapolis last week. Barkley played a big role, rushing for two touchdowns and picking up more than 100 yards of total offense. The Giants will have to pull another upset this week. Philadelphia is a 7.5-point favorite according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Eagles beat the Giants in both regular season meetings.
Plenty of Penn Staters will be at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field to watch Saturday’s game, but for those who won’t be, here’s how to watch the two ex-Penn State players in the NFL playoffs Saturday night.
When: 8:15 p.m.
Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
TV: Fox
TV Announcers: Joe Davis (PXP), Daryl Johnston (analyst), Pam Oliver and Christina Pink (sideline)
Streaming: fuboTV (try for free, possible regional restrictions
