Giants RB Saquon Barkley: Run-in with Cowboys doesn't need hype
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Saquon Barkley of the Giants runs the ball during the fourth quarter against the Panthers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Saquon Barkley knows full well that the drama is already baked into the Giants' Week 3 matchup against the Cowboys. All the elements are there: it’s a heated rivalry on a Monday night, the Giants are unexpectedly trying to stay undefeated, and the team has called for a whiteout – the all-white clad crowd amping up what should be an already frenzied atmosphere at MetLife Stadium.
So even though Barkley has made it his mission to make this season a memorable one, and even though he hasn’t done all that much in his six previous meetings against the Cowboys, the Giants’ playmaker isn’t adding any more pressure to the melee.
“No fire needed,” Barkley said after practice Thursday. “I had enough motivation throughout the whole offseason just for the season in general, meaning with my mindset coming in to try to be the best player that I can be, to help this team win games. We’re off to a good start right now, but we got to keep this thing rolling.”
It’s undoubtedly a challenge – the Cowboys have one of the best edge rushers in the league in Micah Parsons – but there’s an extra element that the Giants will need to navigate. Everyone knows that Barkley is the engine that drives this machine, and last week the Panthers were able to limit his touches early – something that had him at five carries for three yards at halftime. The Giants, though, stuck with the run, wore down the Carolina defense and were duly rewarded after Barkley finished with 21 carries for 73 yards. Patience may be a virtue, but it feels a little like a punishment when the clock is ticking down and the offense is stuttering.
“That’s always a challenge,” coach Brian Daboll said. “And again, I think it just depends on what you’re trying to get accomplished. Obviously, Saquon is a big part of what we do and what we want to do. And when you go into half and there’s eight carries for zero yards, I just put myself in Mike’s [offensive coordinator Mike Kafka’s] shoes. You’re going, ‘Oof. We’ve gotten zero yards on eight plays.’ But Saquon’s one of our best players, and again, the running game in this league is not always pretty.”
Kafka, for his part, said that it’s something they’ve focused on this week. Generally, a team may be able to limit a player of Barkley’s caliber, but that often means easing up in other areas, and even then, it’s difficult to erase him completely. So, the Giants are looking to get creative.
“This week, that’s what we’re focused on,” Kafka said. “We’re focused on putting our guys in the best spot. Communicating, we’re emphasizing communication. We’re emphasizing execution and then when we get down into the fourth quarter, down into the game, finishing games.”
And though Barkley has taken a measured approach to Monday’s game, it stands to reason that he wants to break out against the rival many Giants players are measured against. He’s scored only one touchdown in six career games against them, and averaged 57.3 yards per game. Last season was a particularly painful meeting: Barkley, in comeback mode, stepped on Jourdan Lewis’ foot during Week 5 and sprained his ankle – an injury that hampered his season.
There’s a tendency then, to view this coming week as potentially one of the biggest of his Giants career. That’s not a view he takes, though.
“It’s the biggest game because it’s the next game,” he said. “That’s the mentality that I kind of always have. It was instilled in me in college. Obviously, I had a little more success in college than the first couple of years in the league - never get too hyped over a game, just got to come in continuing to love the process, enjoy the process and do what we can to try and get a win.”
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