Giants Saquon Barkley Named NFC Offensive Player of the Week

Barkley logged his third highest career rushing total in the New York Giants' 21-20 Week 1 win over the Tennessee Titans.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Sep 14, 2022 9:04 AM EDT

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New York Giants

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley has been named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week following his 164-yard rushing performance Sunday against the Tennessee Titans in a 21-20 win.

Barkley, who carried the rock 18 times, averaged 9.1 yards per carry. Tucked among his rushes was a 68-yarder that set up his 4-yard touchdown run, the Giants' first touchdown of the season.

Barkley also caught a team-high six receptions for 30 yards, including the 2-point conversion with 1:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, which gave the Giants the win.

Barkley’s 164 rushing yards were the third-highest total of his career. His 68-yard run was his fourth 68-yard run and is tied for the second-longest of his career. And his 194 yards from scrimmage is the fourth-highest total of his career, Barkley owning the franchise record 279 yards from a game against Washington on December 22, 2019.

Barkley is now two years removed from a devastating torn ACL injury in 2020. Currently, in a contract year, he has repeatedly spoken about how good he feels and how he believes himself to be all the way back.

The numbers would certainly validate that. According to NextGen Stats (via ESPN), Barkley hit 21.1 mph, the best mark of his career since 2019 and the fourth fastest time of his career, and went +4.87 rushing yards over expectation per carry.

This is Barkley’s third Player of the Week award; he is the only Giants running back honored since Ahmad Bradshaw in 2011. He is also the first Giants player to be voted for the award since quarterback Daniel Jones won the honors in Week 4 of last season following his 402-yard, two-touchdown performance to top the New Orleans Saints in overtime.