Reckoning with the butterfly effect in sports is a sobering reminder of how fragile our collective timeline can be. If Eli Manning's iconic toss to Odell Beckham Jr. was three inches short, a generation of kids wouldn't care nearly as much about catching the football with one hand. If his throw to David Tyree was three inches too high, he would probably have one less Super Bowl to his name.
That perspective makes Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley's historic season all the more painful.
No, he wouldn't have run for 2,000 yards with the New York Giants' offensive infrastructure. Infinite simulations might not be enough to pair New York with the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
But Giants fans are saying the same thing about Barkley's brutal admission before the Big Game.
Barkley infamously chose Philadelphia in the hours after his free agency began, leaving the team that drafted him in the dust for its more successful – and more generous – rival.
All he's done since is make history. He ran for 2,005 yards and then got better in the playoffs, rushing for 119, 205, and 118 yards, respectively, in the three Eagles wins that took him to the Super Bowl. Barkley is 30 yards away from breaking Terrell Davis' record of 2,476 rushing yards in a single season, including the playoffs.
However, he almost signed with the Chicago Bears instead, which he revealed on Monday.
"It was pretty damn close," Barkley said, via NJ.com. "Let's just say that. It was pretty close."
It doesn't take much to imagine Barkley's 2024 season going differently in the Windy City. The best running back in football? Maybe. A good value for his contract? Certainly possible.
But with each 100-yard game, each step toward 2,000 yards, and each opportunity for the Eagles' team-wide success to be thrown in the Giants' face, Barkley's season was intertwined with New York. Given a far inferior offensive line, coaching, and team success, there's every chance Barkley would've looked much more like his 2023 self than the back that broke off more 60-yard runs than most teams.
Instead, he's the best player on a team four quarters away from a Super Bowl.
There's not much for the New York faithful to do but hope the infinitesimal margins eventually swing back in their favor.
