Playing with dynamite never ends well, and looks like the Rams‘ linebacker, Jared Verse, just tossed in a whole can of gasoline. The timing? That’s not a good one, to be honest. The Rams and the Eagles are all set for an epic divisional round showdown and Verse decided to drop a bomb. While the Eagles’ fans are already heated up, Verse sent them a 4-word message. “I hate Eagles fans,” he said. And now, Saquon Barkley has come out with a response.

When the running back was asked about his thoughts on Verse’s comments, Barkley issued a warning with a slight grin on his face. “Probably not the smartest thing to say coming to Philadelphia,” Barkley responded. “I’ve been on another side and even if felt some type of way, Probably would not give them extra fuel.” 

Well, Barkley, who spent most of his time with the New York Giants previously, pretty well knows how harsh the Eagles’ fans can get for the visiting team. But Verse had his own explanation for his comments ahead of the divisional round. While commenting on the fans, the LB was talking about the week 12 game between both teams where the Philadelphia team thrashed the Rams by 37-20.

“I didn’t even do nothing to ’em,” Verse continued with his comments. “It was my first time playing. Oh, I hate Eagles fans. … When I see that green and white — I hate it. I actually get upset. Like, I actually genuinely get hot.” And the location? The Eagles‘ home. The LB recorded eight combined tackles during the game and turns out the fans didn’t seem to like that.

But the way things are shaping up, looks like it’s time for the Eagles’ fans to get hot in the coming divisional round and Saquon Barkley is well aware of that. “Pretty sure Philly fans seeing that comment … It was already going to be loud and rocking,” Saquon Barkley continued. “The stuff that they would say, conversations are a little bit different now that I have the Midnight Green [Eagles jersey] on. But it’s football. That’s how I look at it. You’re gonna talk crap. And it’s Philly. They’re nasty, they’re grimy and I think we represent that too as a team.”

The wrong-timing of Jared Verse’s comments

Indeed, it wasn’t the smartest thing to say after what happened during the wild-card round between the Eagles and the Packers. During the showdown, one of the Eagles’ fans was caught going full throttle with some seriously nasty language at a female Packers fan. The matter came to light after the scene was caught on a cellphone.

No joke, but the guy was yelling so loud and so vile that he made the rest of the fans uncomfortable during the game. And guess what? The man was banned for life from Lincoln Financial Field. Turns out, he won’t be catching another Eagles game anytime soon, huh? And here’s the kicker; his identity was uncovered by some internet sleuths, and his employer didn’t mess around either. So, what happened? The fan got the boot from his job, too.

Though the man later apologized for his actions, at the end of the day, the damage was already done. Now, to add fuel to the fire came Jared Verse’s comments on the Eagles’ fans at the worst time possible. And now we’re left with one big question. How smart was it for Verse to drop his comments on the Eagles’ fans when the fire’s already burning? Looks like it might backfire, big time.