Can Saquon Barkley keep carrying this much? And are Giants capable of winning shootout?
Saquon Barkley #26 of the Giants runs the ball during the fourth quarter against the Houston Texans at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Saquon Barkley led the NFL in rushing through Week 10 and ranked second in attempts to the Titans’ Derrick Henry, who passed him in yardage on Thursday night.
Barkley’s production has been a big part of the Giants’ 7-2 start, along with additional running and passing support from quarterback Daniel Jones.
But as the Giants’ level of competition stiffens down the stretch and Barkley’s odometer continues to click upward, is this a sustainable approach?
And on a related note, can the Giants play this way if they need to engage in a shootout with a high-powered offense such as the Lions’ on Sunday?
Given their preferred style, the Giants would rather not find out. They have won seven games without scoring more than 27 points in any of them. The Lions have won only three games but have scored at least 27 points five times.
But just in case . . . do the Giants have what it takes to go toe-to-toe on the scoreboard if necessary?
“Yes, I think we do,” Barkley said. “I think we’ve got the skilled guys, the talent, the coaches, to find ways to win games, whatever that is. If we’ve got to run the ball 30 times, 40 times, then that’s the way. If we’ve got to throw the ball and make it a shootout, then I feel like we can do that, too.
“That’s something that’s the biggest blessing about this team, especially on the offensive side this year. It’s the way we’ve been able to adapt, adjust and try to find ways to put points on the board or try to find ways to help our team win games.”
When Jones was asked about sustaining Barkley’s heavy workload, he said: “We’ve won different ways and we have the ability to do a lot of different things on offense.
“He’s an incredible player, it goes without saying. He’s been huge for us, and if that’s what it takes, that’s what it takes, and I know he’s certainly willing to do that. He’s played awesome for us.”
But might Jones enjoy a good, old-fashioned shootout?
“Yeah, I think so,” he said. “Offensively, you’re trying to score every time you touch it. When it’s a competitive game like that, then it’s certainly fun to play in.”
Coach Brian Daboll and coordinator Mike Kafka fielded a number of questions this past week about opening things up in the passing game, and they were typically vague.
“Whatever we need to do, that’s what we’re charged with,” Daboll said. “Every game’s different. Every situation in games that come up are different. We just try to call it and game-plan the way we think we need to.”
But Daboll did acknowledge on Friday — before a cold, windy practice — that the forecast for cold, windy weather on Sunday could alter the approach.
“You definitely have to have a weather plan, particularly if you live up in the Northeast,” he said. “We can think it’s one thing one minute and all of a sudden there’s 25-mile-per-hour winds . . . If the conditions warrant a change or adjustment, then that’s what you do.”
Still, as a coach with a background on offense, does Daboll like shootouts?
“I like winning,” he said. “So whether it’s 3-2 or 45-48, our job is to try to find a way to win. However that is, that’s what I like.”
Daboll said he would not shy away from giving Barkley a heavy workload even after he carried the ball 35 times against Houston.
“It goes back to how the game is flowing and what you want to do,” the coach said, “but if it comes down to it and he needs 50 carries for us to win, then give him 50 carries.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
