The New York Giants erupted out of the starting gate this season, opening with a 6-1 record much to the surprise of the NFL world. Since then however, the wheels have come off.
The Giants are 1-3 over their last four games and those losses have come, in large part, thanks to a subpar rushing attack. The one thing they relied on to succeed has begun to elude them.
Once the NFL’s leading rusher, Saquon Barkley has amassed just 61 yards over the past two games and seen his yards per carry average dip significantly.
The team’s other running backs haven’t had much more success in terms of overall yardage, but they are gaining more than Barkley per attempt. So, what gives?
“I have to do a better job. I have to go back, watch film and see what I can do better,” Barkley told reporters on Thursday. “If the running game is not working, it starts with the running back. I have to get better.”
But Barkley hasn’t just struggled on the ground. The Giants have tried to factor him into the passing game a bit more but the connection between he and quarterback Daniel Jones hasn’t materialized. In a 28-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving, that was evident once again.
On a fourth-and-short, the Giants opted to go for it and the play was designed to hit Barkley out of the backfield. Jones was immediately pressured and that led to an underthrown pass to Saquon, who bobbled it and dropped it.
It wasn’t a perfect throw, but one that should have been made. It didn’t help that the Giants were short a blocker as they had just 10 men on the field.
“I tried to get down and secure the catch and I didn’t make the play,” Barkley said. “Looking back on it, they went down and score. (Brian Daboll) trusted us to go for it on fourth down and one, and for us to make the play, and I didn’t make the play there for us.”
Daboll refused to assign blame for the incompletion after the game. He also refused to single Barkley out for the sudden rushing struggles.
“I’d say, with the run game, everybody needs to do better. It’s not always going to be clean. There’s going to be some ones, some twos. We’ve been missing some bigger plays that usually help in the run game. We just haven’t popped through there,” Daboll said. “The blocking, running, the design. We’ve got to do a better job all the way around I’d say with the run game. Coaching it, executing it. We’ve got a lot to improve, obviously. That’s certainly one of them.”
Barkley is being met behind the line of scrimmage too often. Teams are selling out on stopping him, but his explosiveness seems to have vanished. There is some indecisiveness at times, he’s missed some open lanes and there appears to be some of the same tip-toeing that did him in a season ago.
Did the early season workload tired him out early?
“No. No,” Daboll said. “Saquon’s out there running hard, trying to do everything he can do. We’ve got to do a better job collectively.”
Whatever the cause for Barkley’s recent lack of production, the Giants had better figure it out. If they can’t get him going, their hopes of reaching the playoffs will fade rapidly.
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