During most of his six-year tenure with the Giants, Barkley struggled to elevate a porous offense and dealt with nagging injuries. So Giants general manager Joe Schoen didn’t believe signing Barkley to an expensive new deal would be a smart investment.

A running back arrival is a perfect fit in a football town and an eight-game winning streak has fans soaring.

As the stakes rise and the playoff picture comes more clearly into picture, the Philadelphia Eagles are surging at the right time. An early deficit borne out of a sluggish offensive start wasn’t enough to trouble them en route to a statement 24-19 win over the Baltimore Ravens.