Tiki Barber’s potential redemption arc, Saquon Barkley’s ‘revenge’ game, and more from the Eagles-Giants broadcast

The Eagles, led by backup quarterback Tanner McKee, pulled off a 20-13 win over the Giants in the final game of the regular season, and earning a 14-3 record as a result. Many of the Eagles’ starters didn’t play Sunday, but the fans still got a game that was competitive until the last snap.

If you braved the cold to watch the Eagles finish the regular season in person at the Linc, here’s what you missed from the broadcast.

Eagles fans might never forgive Tiki Barber, the former Giants running back who said Barkley was “dead to him” after signing with the Eagles. But come Week 18, Barber was put in the position to potentially call Barkley’s NFL-record-setting game.

Barkley didn’t play Sunday, keeping him just 101 yards short of breaking the record, but Barber was complimentary of his season on the broadcast despite the offseason controversy.

“Selfishly, we wanted to see him break a 40-year-old record, held by Eric Dickerson in 1984, but Nick Sirianni just didn’t want to let it be,” Barber said to open the broadcast. “Now we have to look at what [Barkley’s] replacements are going to do in the game, because he’s not going to play, but obviously, the season that Saquon had — 2,005 yards, he’s the ninth player in NFL history to go over 2,000 — was nothing short of spectacular, and he should be in the conversation for MVP, even though I know it’s a quarterback award.”

Even with Barkley on the bench, the Eagles still managed to give Barber flashbacks — to his days playing against Jeremiah Trotter, whose son, Eagles rookie linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr., made a tackle on the Giants’ second drive of the game.

“Jeremiah Trotter was my nemesis,” Barber said. “My last away game here, Jeremiah Trotter hurt me so bad it forced me into retirement.”

» READ MORE: Eagles to face Packers in wild-card round of NFL playoffs, beat Giants to cap 14-3 regular season

The 2024 season has been Jake Elliott’s shakiest. In the first year of the new kickoff rules, he and punter Braden Mann have each handled kickoff duties in games this season. Elliott returned to kickoff duties against the Cowboys after a few weeks with Mann in that role, and went a perfect 2-for-2 on field goals and 5-for-5 on extra points, but Mann was back on kickoff duty on Sunday. Elliott went 2-for-3 on field goals in windy conditions.

“It’ll all depend upon the weather going forward,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni told CBS.

Last Sunday’s game against the Cowboys was unusually warm for Dec. 29, with a high of 60 degrees. The Jan. 5 game against the Giants was in much colder weather, with the temperature around 33 degrees at kickoff. So for colder weather games, it seems like Mann will be the kickoff option, and for warmer weather and indoor games, look for Elliott to get the opportunity.

Since arriving in Philadelphia, Barkley has been a massive addition to the Eagles’ locker room, stepping up as a leader on offense and pushing fellow running backs Kenneth Gainwell and Will Shipley even further.

But Barkley isn’t just stepping up as a mentor for his new team. CBS’s Andrew Catalon shared that Barkley reached out to Giants rookie running back Tyrone Tracy on social media after he was drafted — even though Barkley had already signed with Philadelphia.

“They’ve formed a friendship since then,” Catalon said. “Tyrone Tracy, he’s started reaching out frequently to Saquon Barkley, asking him questions. They became friends on social media and finally met up today before the game. He might train in the offseason with Tracy. His old team, and he’s still reaching out to the players and making connections with the rookie running back.”

Barkley’s Unisom commercial, which appeared to poke fun at Giants president John Mara, went viral earlier this week. When Barber asked him about it prior to Sunday’s game, Barkley used the opportunity to poke fun at Barber.

“What is it, Tiki?” Barkley joked. “Tongue-in-cheek?”

Barber previously said that his statement that Barkley was “dead to him” after signing with the Eagles was tongue-in-cheek. But according to Barber, Barkley made the Unisom team rewrite the commercial from its initial phrasing, in order to ensure he was respectful toward the Giants.

Some thought that if Barkley had the opportunity to break the record against the Giants, it would be the “ultimate revenge game,” but Barber said Barkley thought breaking the record against them could be special because of the immense respect he has for the Giants organization, especially his teammates and the trainers who helped him come back from an ACL tear.

“It’s impossible not to like Saquon Barkley,” Barber said. “You get into a room with him, you see how genuine of a person he is, and I think this Eagles team has seen that in their locker room. I’m not saying there’s strife, but there is some drama that happens with this Eagles team. Saquon calms that, because of the leadership that he brings. That’s what the New York Giants have missed.”

You’ve probably seen the video of A.J. Brown tossing McKee’s first NFL touchdown pass into the stands against the Cowboys. The fan who caught the ball and returned it, 22-year-old Pat Driscoll of Audubon, N.J., ended up with a signed Brown jersey, and McKee has the football displayed in his living room.

Catalon revealed on the broadcast that McKee reached out to Driscoll on social media, and plans to meet up with him sometime in January as a thanks for returning the ball.

Eagles reserve tight end EJ Jenkins scored his first NFL touchdown in the game on his first NFL catch, and faked a throw into the stands for the celebration. The announcers joked to keep it away from Brown.

“Don’t let A.J. Brown get it!” Devin McCourty said.

After McKee threw his first touchdown of the day, every Eagles player on the sideline came over to dap him up. With most of the stars on offense, including Jalen Hurts, Brown, DeVonta Smith, Barkley, Jordan Mailata, Lane Johnson, and Landon Dickerson all inactive, a lot of new faces got an opportunity to get on the field. That including rookie receiver Ainias Smith, who scored his first career touchdown, and no one was more excited for them than the inactive stars — especially Brown.

Although it looks like the early cheering tired him out...