Maybe the New York Giants season-long nightmare ends on Super Bowl Sunday. Then again it took a long time for the Boston Red Sox to recover from selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1919.

While the Yankees went on to long-term success and what stands at 27th World Series championships, the Red Sox endured the Curse of the Bambino and didn’t win a World Series title for 86 years.

The Giants only hope their destiny doesn’t follow a similar pattern after allowing running back Saquon Barkley to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles. While the Giants (3-14) endured one of the worst seasons in franchise history, including a 10-game losing streak, the Eagles (17-3) meet the Kansas City Chiefs (18-2) in Super Bowl LIX at the Superdome.

The Big Game will be played on Mr. Saquon’s birthday. He turns 28, setting up a potential story-book ending. “I’m just happy to be here,” Mr. Barkley said at New Orleans, adding, “Winning the Super Bowl in general would be a cool moment. It puts you in football royalty. It’s something you want to accomplish since you were a little kid. Whether it was on my birthday or not, to be able to win it would mean the world.”

The Giants thought re-signing Mr. Barkley would cost too much. He had injuries, and running backs aren’t that important anyway. The decision not to re-sign their generational talent, team leader and most popular player nearly cost head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen their jobs as the franchise lost twice each week, one game on their own and another when Mr. Barkley ran wild for the Eagles.

“If you have an elite player in any position, they’re going to help you be good,” Mr. Barkley said. “That’s how I look at it.” 

While the Giants endure the Barkely Bungle, the Eagles are trying to win their second-ever Super Bowl and stop the Chiefs from an unprecedented three-peat.

Philadelphia wouldn’t be at New Orleans without Mr. Barkley, who was named the AP Offensive Player of the Year, following a brilliant regular season where he rushed for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns. He has been just as dynamic during the postseason, adding another 442 yards and 5 touchdowns in playoff wins over Green Bay, the Los Angeles Rams, and the Washington Commanders.  

Just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000-plus yards, Mr. Barkley sat out Week 18 to rest for the playoffs. His rest was well-deserved. He has 17 runs of 20-plus yards and a league-high seven runs of 40-plus yards during the regular season. Included in his brilliant post-season are touchdown runs of 60, 67, and 78 yards.

It helps to run behind one of the best offensive lines in football, and have dual-threat receivers in A. J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and a dangerous tight end in Dallas Coedert. Quarterback Jalen Hurts doesn’t have to play great for the Eagles to win, just productive.

“It’s a little easier this year when you got those big guys up front creating holes for you,” Mr. Barkley said. “The O-line’s job is to block and when I get the ball my responsibility is to make a guy miss. You can’t be great without the greatness of others. That’s how it works. We have a great team, but all want to do it together.”

Mr. Barkley credits the entire Eagles organization for his success this season. He was welcomed as a free agent at Philadelphia. It quickly ended any emotion about leaving the Giants after six seasons. The Giants wanted to spend money on acquiring offensive line help and a backup quarterback. A disaster for the Giants is a blessing for the Eagles.

“At the end of the day, all we want to do is win games and see each other succeed,” Mr. Barkley said. “When you have a group with that mindset it’s easy to go out there and make plays.”

The Chiefs have plenty of stars and plenty of confidence. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is playing in his fifth Super Bowl, and the offensive mind of coach Andy Reid can never be underestimated.

“Whoever can lock into the details more and make adjustments and make the plays when they need to come, most likely is going to be victorious,” Mr. Barkley said.