Saquon Barkley, Giants' offensive line showed resolve in win
Saquon Barkley of the Giants runs in his second-quarter touchdown reception against the Commanders at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
It was Saquon Barkley’s fifth fumble in his six NFL seasons.
It was the second lost fumble of his career.
It was in the red zone. It could have swung the game.
It didn’t.
“I've got to do better,” Barkley said after the Giants' 14-7 win over the Commanders on Sunday. “It's simple. I've got to do a better job of protecting the ball. Obviously, I've been better at protecting the ball throughout my career, but in that moment, that's a key moment, got to find a way to come away with points there.”
They won anyway. It did seem like a rare scenario this season for these Giants, where they didn’t pay for a mistake.
“Obviously, we didn’t win 40-0, we didn’t blow a team out,” Barkley said, “but at the end of the day we got the [win] and that’s what we’ve got to continue to do the rest of the season. Lean on each other.”
All of that is obviously easier with Barkley on the field.
And against Washington, the formula worked.
“That’s how we always go,” Barkley said. “That’s how we were last year. That’s the type of team we have. That just wasn’t the product we were showing the first couple games of the season, the first six games of the season. We’ve got to get back to playing that way. That’s Giants football, that is the way we have been playing.”
The offensive line was part of that effort.
“This is winning football, complementary football,” Barkley said. “Playing for each other, feed off each other, have each other’s back. Find a way to win games.”
Barkley’s presence makes all of that easier for the Giants, of course.
But he had to ride his own hills and valleys against Washington.
He had a 32-yard catch-and-run touchdown where he credited quarterback Tyrod Taylor for “hitting me on the move. I was able to make a guy miss and field a way to get into the end zone.”
Of the fumble, Barkley said "I let my team down, but the defense had my back."
It was Barkley’s second lost fumble of his career. Washington’s Daron Payne poked the ball loose.
“He won that fight,” Barkley said.
But the Giants won the game.
And the offensive line, still patchwork, helped to seal the deal, even if Taylor was sacked four times.
Having Barkley back clearly helps the line. So does the sage advice offered by left tackle Justin Pugh.
The starter at left tackle again Sunday, Pugh has emphasized to the linemen that they need to “overcommunicate.”
The rest of the linemen have apparently bought in.
“I think one of the biggest pieces in offensive line play is making sure that we’re all on the same page and accounting for our responsibilities,” guard Ben Bredeson said. “We’re talking through it and making sure that everyone knows what the plan is and how we need to execute.”
The plan going forward? For the line to continue to emphasize communication no matter who is at quarterback, whether it is Taylor or Daniel Jones.
“They’re both great veteran leaders, great quarterbacks and take control of the huddle,” Bredeson said. “They both make sure that everyone’s on the same page. It’s a pleasure to block for either one of them.”
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
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