Saquon Barkley may be a one-man show for the Giants' offense

Injuries have been the only things that have stopped Saquon Barkley throughout his career.

They may be looking to do so again.

Only this time it won’t be his own that try to tackle him.

Barkley has looked as fleet and spry as ever, leading the league in rushing and all-purpose yards and off to the best opening month any Giants running back has ever produced. According to ESPN Stats and Information, Barkley’s 463 rushing yards are the most by a Giant through four games, slightly ahead of the 455 Tiki Barber gained en route to the then franchise single-season record of 1,518 set in 2004. (Barber broke his own record with 1,860 in 2005, which still stands as tops for the franchise.)

But what Barber had in those seasons from 2004 to his retirement in 2006 was an offense that also included the team’s eventual all-time leader in receptions, two different quarterbacks who would play in a combined five Super Bowls, a tight end who broke receiving records for his position, and one of the best offensive lines of its generation.

Barkley by contrast is pretty much a one-man show. And with the injuries that have befallen the team at other positions, well, it’s about to get even lonelier for him on stage.

He had some help with a healthy Daniel Jones shouldering some of the rushing burden, as was evidenced against the Bears. But even if Jones plays Sunday, he’s unlikely to be the mobile threat he has been due to his sprained ankle. It may be several weeks before Jones is back faking handoffs to Barkley and darting around the end of the mob of defenders who follow the running back as he did to the tune of two dazzling touchdowns right before he was injured. Heck, Jones even threw a block for Barkley to get him more yardage on a screen pass that had gone belly up until Barkley was able to squirt free and reverse field turning it into a substantial gain. He won’t be doing that for a while.

And the receivers? The Giants will barely have enough healthy bodies to get through their workouts this week with head coach Brian Daboll touting the three practice squad players as viable options against the Packers. All four of the projected top-tier pass catchers on the team are dealing with medical issues and none of them – Sterling Shepard, Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney or Wan’Dale Robinson – may be available Sunday.

Things are so dire that when Odell Beckham Jr. stopped by to say hello to some former teammates at the facility on Monday it created a buzz of optimism that he’d returned to save the offense even though he himself is recovering from a torn ACL and won’t be ready to play for at least another month (and it was more a social call than anything official with the coaches or front office anyway).

This incarnation of the offensive line does run block better than it protects against pass rushers. Andrew Thomas is emerging as one of the tops in the league at left tackle, but the line is far from the backbone of success those units in the mid to late 2000s were.

As for tight ends, the Giants have three and they played well on Sunday in a gameplan that relied heavily upon them. But can you name them? All three? Without looking them up? You’re a super intense Giants fan if you can.

All of which leaves… Barkley.

It’s only slight hyperbole to suggest all 11 Packers defenders will be assigned to simply follow him around the field at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday to make sure he doesn’t do anything to hurt their chances of winning.

If Barkley is able to overcome all of that in the coming weeks and still manage to be productive, still have an impact on the outcomes of the contests, and still keep something close to a pace to be within reach of the franchise records at the end of the season, it will be a marvel.

It will be Barkley’s opportunity to finally get the better of injuries – his own or his teammates’ – after succumbing to them so often throughout his career.

It may even become part of the most impressive season any Giants running back has ever had, whether the final stats wind up indicating that or not.

Notes & Quotes: CB Aaron Robinson (knee) was put on injured reserve and will miss at least four games with the designation. He is expected to be healthy enough to return this season ... Three free agent quarterbacks worked out for the Giants on Tuesday: Jake Fromm, A.J. McCarron and Brian Lewerke. None were signed immediately but one could be added depending on the status of Jones and Tyrod Taylor (concussion) as the week progresses. 

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.