PHILADELPHIA — The party was on at Lincoln Financial Field. The confetti was falling, and the stage was set. But Saquon Barkley was heading through the southwest tunnel of the stadium as Eagles fans serenaded him with “MVP” chants.

After six seasons of mostly losing with the New York Giants, Barkley wanted to find his family. But he was going the wrong way, and so the Eagles’ MVP candidate, the one who broke and chased records throughout the regular season and these playoffs, made a U-turn and went back to the field to find them.

Jeffrey Lurie held a trophy high. Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown were on the stage. But Barkley never went to the stage. He did a few interviews on the field, but then it was time to find his loved ones. And when the Eagles finally made their way toward their locker room, there was Saquon Jr. in his father’s hands, and the rest of the Barkley clan flanking the player most responsible for the Eagles reaching the Super Bowl.

“It was fun to be out there and see the confetti and things you envision, but the most special thing about it was being out there with my family,” Barkley said. “I know I’ve never been there, but I’ve been there so many times in my head.”

This, the celebration, the shot at a Super Bowl, was why Barkley signed with the Eagles, he said.

“That’s one of the first conversations I had with Howie [Roseman],” Barkley said. That’s the conversation I had with my family. I came to Philly to be a part of games like this, and none better than a game when you can advance to the Super Bowl.”

He started it with a bang.

Barkley has spent the duration of the season being an opposing defense’s worst nightmare. Sunday afternoon, he was his own, if only for a brief moment.

The Eagles defense was on the field for 18 plays on a grueling opening drive from Washington that featured a pair of third-and-6 conversions and another two conversions on fourth down. The Eagles held the Commanders to three points and needed a rest, but Barkley had other ideas.

They rested for one play.

Will Shipley gave the Eagles good field position with a 35-yard return to the Eagles’ 40-yard line, and Jalen Hurts led the offense onto the field. Hurts checked into a new play. It sent DeVonta Smith in motion as Hurts took an under-center snap from Landon Dickerson, who started in place of Cam Jurgens. It was a fake jet sweep and a pitch to Barkley.

Out to the left side, Jordan Mailata and Dallas Goedert made a hole. Barkley took care of the rest. He broke through safety Quan Martin’s arm tackle, then safety Jeremy Chinn had two chances to bring Barkley down and couldn’t. Barkley cut to his right at Washington’s 35-yard line and was gone.

Eagles 7, Commanders 3, and the Eagles never trailed again in their 55-23 NFC championship victory.

“We wanted to send a message and we did that,” Barkley said. “We knew that when you play a team two or three times, they kind of get a bead on some of your stuff. We gave them a dummy call and it worked to perfection.”

It was the first of three touchdowns for Barkley, and his record-setting season will have one more stop: New Orleans.

The Eagles won all three of their home playoff games in different ways, but Barkley, as he has been all season, was the constant. He racked up 119 rushing yards in a wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers, added 205 and two scores last week vs. the Los Angeles Rams, and finished Sunday with 118.

His 4-yard touchdown extended the Eagles’ lead to 14-3 late in the first quarter, and he bookended his opening-play score with another 4-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. On that last touchdown, Hurts took a shotgun snap from Jurgens, who came into the game in the second half after Dickerson went down with a knee injury. Hurts handed to Barkley, who cut right and waltzed into the end zone as the Eagles blocked the play perfectly.

Barkley put his hands together and placed them under his chin as he ran around the back of the end zone miming a “good night” message to the Commanders.

John Mara’s restless nights will continue. The Giants’ owner said he would lose sleep if Barkley went to the Eagles, but who could have seen all of this?

Maybe Tonya Johnson, Saquon’s mother.

“You ever been on a job sometimes and it doesn’t work out and then you get in a new job and you flourish?” Tonya said. “That’s how things work sometimes. That’s how the universe is.

“It’s been great for him to finally be somewhere where he’s able to showcase his talent without people talking about him, without this, without that, running backs don’t deserve this, they don’t deserve that. Now we see.

“I’m excited. It’s been a long time coming. It’s been a dream of his since he was a kid. And we’re going to win, by the way.”

Barkley wasn’t making any similar proclamations in the locker room, but he did mention that there was still unfinished business.

“We’ve done a lot of special stuff,” Barkley said. “But the most special thing you can do is win a Super Bowl. That’s our goal. Obviously I wasn’t here two years ago, but I bought into this culture, I bought into this organization, and I know how those guys felt. I’m going to make sure I do everything in my capability to make sure the same thing won’t happen again.”

With the offense humming like it was Sunday, and the Eagles defense being a turnover-forcing machine, a different result is in sight.

The Eagles rushed for seven touchdowns. Hurts added three of his own, two of which came via the Tush Push. Shipley later scored a garbage-time touchdown after Nick Sirianni gave Hurts a curtain call with a timeout and inserted Kenny Pickett at quarterback. By the time Shipley scored, 3 minutes, 3 seconds remained on the clock and the party was more than on throughout the Delaware Valley.

Hurts had his best game since returning from a concussion he suffered during a Week 16 loss at Washington. He was efficient and took care of the football and made good use of A.J. Brown, Smith, and Goedert.

But everything is always easier with the threat of Barkley.

“It’s a good day,” Tonya said. “It’s the 26th. His number is 26. His birthday is February the 9th, the Super Bowl is February the 9th.”

Barkley didn’t get a chance to best Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record as the Eagles rested their starters in their meaningless regular-season finale, but he’ll have a chance at the Super Bowl in two weeks to set a new record for the most rushing yards in a season when combining the regular season and postseason. He entered Sunday 148 yards shy of Terrell Davis’ record-setting 1998 season when he compiled 2,476 yards.

He’ll need another 30 in New Orleans.

Don’t blink, it might take only one play.

____

©2025 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.