The post felt personal. Probably because it was. When former Philadelphia Eagles running back Miles Sanders, now wearing Dallas Cowboys blue, seemingly minimized Saquon Barkley’s breakout year with the Eagles by crediting Philly’s offensive line, the reaction was swift and sharp. But beneath the headline-grabbing quote, there’s a deeper story, a rivalry quietly brewing since the first time these two laced up cleats in Happy Valley.
And now, with Sanders back in the NFC East and Barkley suddenly the prince of Philadelphia and the NFL ‘s rushing king, it all might be bubbling to a head.
Sanders allegedly responded on Instagram to a question asked by phillycrew about “the difference between what he and #Eagles RB Saquon Barkley add to an offense.
“No disrespect to bud (Barkley) but he wasn’t doing all that in New York. Got a good OL (in Philly) so it’s cool. I do this everywhere. Philly gonna see,” the now-deleted Instagram story read.
“They (Philly) said I wasn’t worth the money… so I signed with the team they hate the most. I’m in Dallas now -and every snap is personal.”
Hmmmm. Well, if you asked the Panthers I think they’d say that Sanders definitely wasn’t worth the money because when he hit free agency after the 2022-2023 season Carolina signed him to a four-year, $25.4 million contract with $13 million guaranteed. After posting just 637 yard in two seasons in Charlotte, the Panthers released him this past off-season and he subsequently signed a 0ne-year deal with the Cowboys but not before publicly expressing his frustration with how Carolina misused him – describing things as “out of his control” and implying organizational mismanagement.
Sanders later claimed the post was fake and maybe so, but if feels all too real. I would think if you’re going to hijack someone’s Instagram account to start a war by throwing verbal salvos at the NFL’s best in show, I would think you would go a little harder than what was said. There’s nothing in that “dig” that’s inaccurate. I’m sure Saquon would probably agree with it. The Giants’ offensive line was sieve-like during Barkley’s tenure there while Philly’s offensive line is legendary. It was unnecessary, but accurate.
In the Shadow of Greatness in Happy Valley
The story starts at Penn State. Saquon Barkley was the headline – the human highlight reel and future top-2 draft pick. Behind him, waiting and watching was Sanders, nickname Boobie, a 5-star recruit from Pittsburgh who sat for two years while Barkley soaked up every carry and very camera flash.
“I had to learn patience the hard way,” Sanders once told The Players’ Tribune. “It wasn’t easy watching from the sideline when I felt like I could contribute.”
So when Barkley left for the Giants in 2018, Sanders seized the moment. He rushed for 1,274 yards in his lone season as a starter, the 11th highest single-season rushing total in PSU history, proving he wasn’t just the “next man up” after Saquon, he was his own kind of weapon.
Some say, the comparisons never stopped. Really? I don’t know of anyone making those comparisons. It would be like comparing Nevin Markwart to Wayne Gretzky.
The Super Bowl Setback
Fast forward to 2022. Sanders is the lead back on a Super Bowl-bound Eagles team. He rushes for a career-high 1,269 yards, scores 11 touchdowns, and looks every bit the RB1 Philly hoped he’d become, of course until the actual Super Bowl that saw Sanders scamper for 16 yards on seven carries, including two fumbles that fortunately for him and his team did not count (one turned into a Nick Bolton scoop-six that was overturned in the beginning of the second half).
Then came the offseason and with it a cold dose of business. The Eagles let him walk. No big offer, no real fight to keep him. Instead, they opted for local product D’Andre Swift, acquiring him via a trade with Detroit. Swift had a solid year with the Birds but Sanders? He struggled through the worst season of his career in his first year in Carolina – 432 yards on 129 carries and just one touchdown eventually losing the starting job to rookie Chuba Hubbard. You would think it wast a humbling experience.
As Sanders wrestled with irrelevance in Charlotte in year two, Barkley was blowing up again, only this time in midnight green. Barkley’s decision to sign with Philadelphia paid off immediately as we know winning Best NFL Player and Best Play at the 2025 ESPYs last week. He also helped the Eagles win their second Super Bowl in eight years and became the face of the franchise that once belonged, however briefly, to his Penn State understudy.
Hey Jelousy
So when that quote surfaced, whether real or embellished, it didn’t sound that far-fetched. It sounded like a man with something to prove – a man who’s tired of being and feeling like Mr. Irrelevant. Especially because he was made to watch his former college teammate live his dream in the very city that let him walk.
And now Sanders is a Cowboy. The irony and drama writes itself. “Every snap is personal,” he said and that part wasn’t disputed.
Sanders is playing for the Eagles’ most hated rival, twice a year, on the biggest stage and brightest lights. It’s no longer just about proving he belongs in the league. He’s already proven that he does. It’s about proving to his former employer and it’s fanbase that letting him go was a mistake. That Saquon isn’t the only Penn State back who can dominate behind that offensive line. And maybe, just maybe, that the shadow Barkley once cast is no longer big enough to dim what Sanders believes he can become.
The So-called Rivalry Just Got Spicier
Barkley and Sanders have always been linked, by school, by position, by draft proximity, and now by NFL rivalry, although I find it hard to call it a rivalry when one side wins all the time. But at least the 2025 season may finally bring Sanders’ personal affliction full circle.
Some might not see it as just Cowboys vs. Eagles anymore. For Miles Sanders it’s him vs. Saquon. For Sanders, it’s his legacy versus a walking legend. For Barkley’s shadow it’s his respect for a football deity versus the resentment that’s been building inside him since their days at Beaver Stadium.
He no longer has to wait his turn to prove that he belongs. Just 43 days. In a hostile environment that doesn’t care what you’ve done, only what you’ve done for them lately. Sanders is now a Philly villain. The city of brotherly love will have none for a guy who once donned the winged helmet. Twice a year he’ll go head to head with a guy who brought the city something he could not. A guy who has the President on speed-dial and occasionally will bum a ride on Airforce One. A guy who has more V.I.P. clout in this town than Ben Franklin and more Je ne sais quoi than the Stallion. So is it personal? What do you think?
