Saquon Barkley buries his focus in details after NFC Offensive Player of the Week award
Saquon Barkley wasn’t supposed to speak to the media until Thursday. But the NFC’s Offensive Player of the Week understood he was in high demand on Wednesday and obliged.
“Any individual award is a team award,” Barkley said of being honored for his 194 yards in last weekend’s 21-20 Giants win at Tennessee. “The most important thing was getting the win. Now we’ve got to shift to Carolina.”
Barkley leads the NFL in rushing yards (164) and yards from scrimmage (194) approaching Sunday’s home opener against the Panthers (0-1) at MetLife Stadium.
He averaged 9.1 yards per carry, caught a team-high six passes for 30 yards, and added a 4-yard TD run and a game-winning two-point conversion.
His 68-run in the early third quarter, with the Giants trailing 13-0, set the table for his touchdown and changed the game. He then made a couple of defenders miss with 1:06 remaining to convert a Daniel Jones shovel pass for two points to give the Giants their late one-point lead.
His 164 rushing yards marked the third-highest total of his career in a single game. Barkley ran for a career-high 189 yards on Dec. 22, 2019, and 170 yards on Dec. 9, 2018, both on the road at Washington’s FedEx Field.
The Giants’ fifth-year running back said he wasn’t dwelling on his stats, though. Instead, he has buried his focus in improving the details, like his fourth-quarter fumble that Titans corner Kristian Fulton fortunately punched out of bounds.
“Just come into work. That’s the only thing I can do,” Barkley said. “I already watched the film. I’m writing my notes: Ball security. I got lucky in that situation. That could have gone the wrong way, could have hurt us. Gotta be better with ball security.
“Gotta be better with pass pro,” “Barkley added. “Still missed my opportunities out there. Left a lot of yards. So that’s my focus: See what I can do better, and when the game comes, execute the plays. Every game might not be a 194-yard performance, but whatever I can do to help the team win, that’s what I want to be able to do.”
GIANTS DOWN A CORNER
Starting outside corner Aaron Robinson had his appendix removed Wednesday and is out for Sunday’s game against the Panthers. No one played a corner snap in Week 1 other than Adoree Jackson, Robinson and slot Darnay Holmes.
The Giants’ secondary depth is so unsettled that head coach Brian Daboll cited five different players who will “compete” as possible replacements for Robinson: in order, rookie Cor’Dale Flott, Fabian Moreau, Nick McCloud, rookie Zyon Gilbert and Justin Layne.
But McCloud (hamstring) and wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson (right knee) didn’t practice Wednesday, either. And Flott said his first step toward earning playing time on defense is to “earn a spot on special teams,” where he played just two snaps in Tennessee.
Daboll said Wan’Dale Robinson, the rookie receiver, has shown “significant” improvement in the past few days. But the coach had no other update. “We’ll see how it goes,” he said.
Center Jon Feliciano (lower leg), edges Kayvon Thibodeaux (sprained right MCL) and Azeez Ojulari (right calf), and safety Jason Pinnock (shoulder) were limited. Safety Dane Belton (clavicle) was a full participant, and Daboll expects him to make his NFL debut Sunday.
TONEY: NO DISAPPOINTMENT IN WIN
Kadarius Toney scoffed at the suggestion that he might be disappointed in playing only seven snaps in Week 1.
“Disappointed in a victory? Disappointed in winning? You sound crazy,” Toney said Wednesday.
Toney said: “I get paid to play, not coach. So I don’t know what’s ahead for me Sunday. I just gotta go out there and be the best player I can be.”
When asked if he needs to stay healthy and practice more to earn playing time, Toney said: “If that’s what’s required of me, it’s what I gotta do. Everybody knows I had the injury a couple weeks ago [was] why I wasn’t on the field. So I guess it was just with that. So I dunno. I don’t know what to say.”
Toney said as long as the team wins, “if I played two plays or one play and we won, bro, I don’t really care.”
