EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The player with the most rushing yards in the history of MetLife Stadium will return tomorrow under much different circumstances than his last appearance.

On Jan. 7, Barkley rushed for 46 yards and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 51 yards for the Giants in their season-ending 24-7 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles. Sixty-five days later, on March 13, Barkley, arguably the most productiveand popular Giants player in the previous six seasons, signed a three-year ontract with Philadelphia. Tomorrow, he returns asthe adversary in green for the first time when the Giants host the Eagles.

"I don't have to prove anything to them," Barkley told reporters in Philadelphia this week. "I'm thankful for the opportunity for this organization, from (owner) Jeffrey (Lurie) to (general manager) Howie (Roseman), everybody getting me here. So that's the people I've got to prove it to, and my teammates. At the end of the day, the most important thing is winning. Whether I go have 300 yards or if I have 10 yards, as long as we win, I don't have that big of a pride or ego that if I go out there and ball it's like I'm looking at those guys like 'Look what you guys let go.'

"There is no hate over there. But at the same time, I do know it's a big game, an important game. It's a division rival and I am going to go in there locked in and do the best I can to try to help us win the game."

Barkley certainly departed with an impressive legacy. A panel of experts this year voted him the 95th best player in the 100-year history of the Giants. His 5,211 rushing yards placed him fourth in franchise history, and his 47 touchdowns (35 rushing) are 11th. He was the 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year and a two-time Pro Bowler.

Barkley rushed for 2,601 yards in MetLife Stadium, oddly split with 2,600 in Giants home games and one - yes, one - as a visitor against the Jets in 2019.

He still has many friends in northern Jersey who support him and don't begrudge his success. They just want to place it on hiatus whenever the Giants and Eagles meet.

Barkley attended defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence's wedding on July 27.

"We caught up over that time and I told him that whenever we play, it's war and he knows that," Lawence said. "I'm just excited to play against him for a full game.

"I've been against other guys that were here and then went somewhere else. At the end of the day, to me, it's football. You've got to beat whoever is in front of you and this week it's the Eagles. That's the game plan. I'm excited to compete against Saquon for a full game. Just put my will on him a little bit."

"It will definitely be a little different seeing him in another uniform," quarterback Daniel Jones said. "But we're competing this week, it's time to go. So yeah, it'll be different at first, but just another big divisional game."

Jones was asked how he expects Barkley to be received by Giants fans in MetLife Stadium.

"If I had to guess, probably not warmly," he said. "It's a competitive game. It's Eagles vs. Giants. So, big divisional game, there's a lot going on outside of Saquon Barkley being back."

It's still a big event. Few Giants players in recent years have been as revered as Barkley. In addition to his achievements on the field, he was active in the community and was the team's nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award each of the previous two seasons.

He has continued his good work on and off the field in Philadelphia.

Though the Eagles have had their bye and have played one less game than most teams, Barkley's 482 rushing yards are the NFL's fourth-highest total. His 114.8 scrimmage yards per game is second in the league. Barkley also leads the Eagles with five touchdowns, and his 96.4 rushing yards a game and 5.3 yards per carry are both career highs. But now he will face his former teammates for the first time.

Barkley has maintained ties with several Giants. In June, he attended a golf tournament hosted by Dane Belton and Micah McFadden in their hometown of Tampa that raised funds for Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

"He's always willing to support current and former teammates," McFadden said. "Obviously, he loves competing and when we were down there, he was talking talking trash on the golf course about his game and where it is. It was definitely exciting and obviously really grateful that he came down and supported ourouting and just appreciate the type of guy he is."

McFadden will be a big part of the brigade looking to stop Barkley in his tracks tomorrow.

"It's going to take all 11," McFadden said. "He's a guy who can break tackles. He's dangerous in the pass game. He's explosive, he has every move, he can jump cut, he can find the crease andhe can skinny through a gap. It takes the D-line being true in their gap and not jumping out, not playing peek-a-boo, but everybody just doing their job, playing their gap, and doing it consistently."

Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen's most recent live look at Barkley was on Sept. 11, 2022, the season opener of his second season as the Tennessee Titans' defensive coordinator and Brian Daboll's first game as the Giants' head coach. Barkley rushed for 168 yards, including a 68-yard run, scored a touchdown, and caught a Daniel Jones pass for the game-winning 2-point conversion in the Giants' 22-21 victory in a game they trailed at halftime, 13-0.

"He really got them back in the game there in the second half," Bowen said. "Obviously, the 2-point play stands out where we had unblocked player and, and he made a miss and scored.

"A guy that can take it the distance anytime he has the ball in his hand. Special player. You gotta do a good job on him. I think the fits, the discipline, understanding if he sees the crease, he has the vision to find it. We have to be able to not let him get started."

Linebacker Brian Burns also has experience playing against Barkley, but not with him.

"He's one of those guys, you give him any little bit of room, he could take it all the way," Burns said. "He's dynamic, electric in that way. You kind of gotta keep him in the phone booth and make his money for him, because if you give him a clean picture, he can hurt you."

Barkley did that to many Giants opponents in MetLife Stadium. Not that he's one of them, the Giants can't let him do it again.