Saquon Barkley: Giants Running Game Can Be Even Better

Giants running back Saquon Barkley spoke candidly about the league's best rushing offense through four weeks, saying it can get even better.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Oct 6, 2022 7:00 PM EDT

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New York Giants

For the first time in a long while, the New York Giants rushing offense is sitting at the top of the NFL, averaging 192.5 yards through four games, a vast improvement over the 99.3 yards it averaged in 2021.

Much of that is thanks to running back Saquon Barkley, currently the league rushing leader with 463 yards on 84 carries and who already has two 100-yard rushing performances to his name this season.

"We’re doing pretty good right now in the run game," Barkley said Thursday. "Really good, to be completely honest. Not just myself, but as a whole."

The fifth-year running back said it's been a collaborative effort between the offensive line's run blocking, the play calls, the decisions by quarterback Daniel Jones and Barkley himself that has helped the run game carry the offense through the first four months of the season.

"The o-line has been incredible. Every single one of those guys, just the way that they’re working all on the same page, that’s the beauty of the o-line. It takes five guys to be on the same page for one play. If one of them is just a little bit off – or especially me, if I’m not reading it right or my steps aren’t right, the whole play can be messed up," Barkley said.

"The o-linemen are doing a great job. I also want to give credit to the tight ends. The tight ends have been doing an amazing job. There’s one clip where they took the d-end and moved him five, 10 yards back, and you see them celebrating. As a back, that gets you excited. Also, the wide receivers too and DJ are making the right calls. It’s been a collective thing."

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In addition to his rushing yardage, Barkley has 12 big-play runs of 10+ yards and has forced 16 missed tackles so far--the big-play run total exceeding his 2021 season total of nine and the missed tackles four shy of what he recorded last year.

He's also averaging a career-high 4.07 yards after contact, putting to rest any doubts about whether he's back from the ACL tear he suffered in 2020.

And if anyone is worried about Barkly being overworked this early in the season, don't be.

"I missed so many games the last couple of years. Me complaining about touches or being worried about touches that would be just stupid of me, to be completely honest," Barkley said.

"I’m just blessed and happy I get to go out there and play the sport that I love. I keep saying it: I want to go out there and make plays and try to help my team win games. If that means 30 touches, then that means 30 touches. If that means only five touches, then it’s only five touches. Whatever I can do to put my team in a position to win games, I’m going to do."

Despite all he's accomplished so far this season, Barkley thinks there is still room for the rushing offense--including himself--to improve.

"It’s just early in the year," he said. "Everyone is continually working on trying our best to get into midseason form. We’ve just got to continue to find the plays that we know that work for us and then go out there and execute it.

"I’ve got to do a better job when the o-line gives me opportunities to make the defense pay."

This weekend the Giants will face a Packers run defense that not only doesn't load the box up often, but when it has, teams have found success in the ground game, averaging 6.03 yards per carry against 8+ men in the box.

If Barkley is excited about the prospect of not having to face a loaded box, he wasn't letting on.

"It’s going to be a focal point for a lot of teams to try to stop us," he said. "A lot of teams are going to do a lot new and different things, come up with creative ways. You can’t look too deep into that; we’ve just got to focus on ourselves and adjust whenever they come out to try something."