Saquon Barkley: I Didn't Make Enough Plays vs. Commanders
In this story:
The New York Giants tied the Washington Commanders 20-20, the first time since 1997, which also happened to be against the Commanders. Though the result is not a loss, the Giants missed out on sealing a win they felt was theirs for the taking.
After being up 20-13 for most of the fourth quarter, the Giants offense struggled to capitalize on the opportunities they created. Eventually, the Giants defense conceded a late touchdown, leading the Commanders to tie the game and force overtime.
“Not good enough,” said running back Saquon Barkley when asked what he thought of the Giants offensive performance in the second half. “We didn’t execute. We had momentum coming in. We didn’t execute on that. We didn’t make the plays all around. That’s just it.”
Following four consecutive scoring drives that led the Giants to squash their 10-point deficit and take a 7-point lead, their next and final four offensive possessions resulted in punts.
“We responded,” said Barkley. “We were down 10 points, and we responded. We have to put ourselves in position to win the football game. It’s the NFL. Games will have ups and downs. Can’t waver. We didn’t do that, but when we needed it the most, we didn’t execute the play.”
That said, the Giants rush attack was solid and played a crucial role in the success they were able to generate. The Giants ran for 130 rushing yards on the day, 63 of which came from Barkley on 18 attempts, while the remaining 71 came from quarterback Daniel Jones on 12.
“I thought we ran it well for the most part,” said Jones when asked about the Giant run game. “I thought the guys up front did well against a good front, and we were able to move the line of scrimmage and create some plays in the run game. Like each aspect of our offense, we’ll go back and study it and see what we can work on. I thought the guys up front played well.”
Though the Giants rush attack looked sharper in their game against the Commanders, it wasn’t enough to help the Giants secure the win, something running back Barkley has taken accountability for.
“All around, we didn’t do enough,” said Barkley. “I didn’t do enough. I didn’t make enough plays; that’s why we came up with a tie.”
The Giants offense didn’t find it easy to get in a groove in the second half. And despite winning the coin toss to receive the ball in overtime on top of having three different offensive possessions to come away with points, the Giants still fell short, which included a missed 58-yard field goal attempt by kicker Graham Gano in the dying seconds of overtime.
“Frustrating,” said Barkley when asked about their missed opportunities in overtime. “We didn’t win the game. That’s on us, and we have to do a better job.”
Join the Giants Country Community
- Sign up for our FREE digest newsletter
- Follow and like us on Facebook
- Submit your questions for our mailbag
- Check out the new Giants Country YouTube Channel.
- Listen and subscribe to the daily LockedOn Giants podcast.
- Subscribe and like the LockedOn Giants YouTube Channel
- Sign up for our FREE message board forums
- Get your Giants tickets today from SI Tickets!
