After two Super Bowl losses to the New York Giants during his career, Tom Brady probably relishes any opportunity he gets to troll his former rival.
And right now, there are a lot of reasons to troll the Giants, but there may be no bigger reason than their handling of Saquon Barkley’s free agency. As Brady watched Barkley score three touchdowns, leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a NFC Championship Game victory over the Washington Commanders Sunday afternoon on Fox, the father of three couldn’t help himself from poking the Giants with a dad joke.
Midway through the fourth quarter, play-by-play voice Kevin Burkhardt noted Barkley has been “magnificent,” adding “Giants fans may have a tough time sleeping going forward.”
Saquon Barkley has been magnificent…Giants fans may have a tough time sleeping going forward.” – Kevin Burkhardt pic.twitter.com/T1dxKmVE63
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 27, 2025
Burkhardt was not-so-subtly referencing Hard Knocks: Offseason catching Giants owner John Mara saying he would “have a hard time sleeping” if Barkley signs with the Eagles. But Burkhardt wasn’t the only Fox broadcaster with a joke for the Giants. Brady waited patiently for Burkhardt to stop rattling off Barkley’s stats before eagerly taking the opportunity to say, “Giant mistake letting him go.”
Get it? Giant mistake…by the Giants. Brady must have been sitting on that one all game, just waiting for the perfect opportunity. And it finally came in the fourth quarter.
In retrospect, the Giants mistake certainly looks like a giant mistake. Barkley had an MVP-caliber season for the Eagles en route to a Super Bowl appearance. The Giants, meanwhile, went 3-14 and remain a franchise in flux. It was a decision that looks really bad, but it may not have been the wrong one. While it’s certainly easy to mock the Giants for letting Barkley go, they were not — and still are not — a roster that is ready to invest in veteran running backs.
