Giants Q&A: Why was Saquon Barkley underused in second half?
Giants running back Saquon Barkley carries the ball and runs it in for a touchdown in the second quarter against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday. Credit: Getty Images/Elsa
Saquon Barkley had 94 rushing yards, 37 receiving yards and two touchdowns at halftime. In the second half, he touched the ball five times for a total of 11 yards. What happened?
Pat Shurmur turned his back on the most dynamic player in the Giants’ offense at a time when he should have been leaning on the rookie running back to close out the game. He blamed the mistakes by others – sacks allowed and penalties and “all that bad stuff” that pushed the Giants backward – for not being able to employ the young star more. “You get off schedule trying to get the ball to Saquon and Odell [Beckham Jr.] and the guys that need to touch it,” Shurmur said.
Does that make sense?
Not really. If anything, those negative plays should have been more of an impetus to get the ball to the two big-play threats the Giants have. “I know everyone wants to be a coach and think what we should call, but they know what they are doing,” Barkley said of Shurmur and offensive coordinator Mike Shula.
How many touches did Barkley wind up with?
Twenty, his fewest since he had 19 in the Week 5 loss to the Panthers. By comparison, undrafted rookie Josh Adams had 22 carries for the Eagles. Wayne Gallman, the Giants’ backup running back, wound up with seven touches (five carries, two catches), his most this season. Shurmur said using Gallman instead of Barkley “had nothing to do with the outcome of the game.”
Why wasn’t Beckham on the field for the first series of the second half?
Because he was in the locker room receiving fluids intravenously after suffering from cramps just before play was about to begin. “I was fine and then I went out and took off running and I just felt like a bite in that calf,” Beckham said. “Once you get a cramp in your calf, it’s over with. So I came back in, I got fluids.”
This isn’t the first time Beckham has missed snaps because of the issue, right?
Correct. Dehydration has been an issue for Beckham all season, and he has had to have an IV at halftime at least three times this year. “I think it happens once in a while,” Shurmur said. “He does fine getting himself prepared. I can’t tell you why it happens … He had to do something medically to get ready to play, so he did.”
Did the cramp limit Beckham physically in the second half?
“No,” the receiver said. “I’m ready to go ... One hundred percent or not, I’m ready to go.”
Why did the Giants waste a timeout on a third-and-18 in the third quarter?
Because there was some confusion on the play call. As for whether the Giants would have been better served by just taking a delay penalty and punting rather than burning the timeout for what was basically a long-shot attempt to gain enough for a first down anyway, Shurmur said: “You don’t want to take the penalty and throw your hands up.”
But wasn’t the play they called after the timeout – a swing pass to Barkley – basically just an offensive version of throwing your hands up and punting?
Probably. But Shurmur stood by the decision. “We’re going to try to get it right,” he said of the play. “Obviously, I’d love my timeouts at the end, if that’s what you are asking … You never want to take a timeout when you don’t have to. That’s the reality.”
Why didn’t Evan Engram play?
The second-year tight end injured a hamstring during warmups. By that time, the Giants had already submitted their list of inactive players, so they had to play the game without one of their more dangerous pass-catchers, a player who could have helped exploit the Eagles’ secondary woes. In the first half, it didn’t seem to matter much, but Engram certainly would have helped open things up for the offense in the second half.
Any other injuries?
Punt returner Quadree Henderson fractured a shoulder on a return in the first half. His season is over and the Giants will have to find another punt returner; rookie wide receiver Jawill Davis could be that guy. Linebacker B.J. Goodson suffered a neck injury. “We’ll see how that plays out as we go,” Shurmur said.
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.
