Call the Giants’ passing game from Sunday whatever negative adjective you want, but there was one offensive success, at least on the stat sheet: Saquon Barkley had his first 100-yard rushing game in two calendar years, since the end of the 2019 season.
It was a personal highlight in a down season for both Barkley and the Giants, but one that many on the offense were happy to contribute to in a tough game.
“It was great to see him out there. He was running the ball well,” left tackle Andrew Thomas said. “There were a few times we didn't have them blocked all the way. They had extra guys in the box, and he made some pretty athletic moves to make some defenders miss, so I was proud of the way he played.”
“He really ran tough and aggressive, downhill with good ball security,” head coach Joe Judge added. “He was very productive for us in a game that a team knew that we were going to just keep running. We were able to run the ball when they knew we had to run the ball and a large part of that – obviously, it takes everybody – but a large part of that was his ability to find a seam, push vertical, run tough, and create extra yards.”
It wasn’t necessarily the old explosive Barkley, either, as he averaged 4.9 yards per carry, but didn’t break a run longer than 10 yards in turning 21 carries into 102 yards.
“Some of his best runs were only two-, three-yard runs where he was able to go ahead and make someone miss in the backfield and certainly make something productive out of it,” Judge said. “When something was blocked up in front of him, he didn't miss on that. He got vertical with it and he did a good job getting downhill. I thought him and Book both did a good job of getting the thing downhill aggressively. Our offensive line was able to generate enough lanes to get these guys going and get us an opportunity to be productive in that phase.”
With Mike Glennon out for the finale and Jake Fromm likely to start with Brian Lewerke behind him, the game plan may be even more simplified against Washington – but the backs are ready.
“We've just really got to stay the course,” Booker said. “Just this past game, Coach Judge was already talking about us going into the game run-heavy. We're only out there and trying to execute what the coaches call for us. Even when I'm in there, when my opportunity is given, I try to seize the moment. That's all we can really ask for at this point and do, is just try to execute the plays that are called.”
A notion Thomas knows his former Georgia teammate Fromm is in on, hoping for a much better showing than his first NFL start a couple weeks ago.
“I think he's eager. He comes in every day, and he works, doing his best to pick up the playbook. I'm excited to see him get another chance,” said Thomas.
All in all, one thing is clear: even though Sunday’s game is virtually meaningless other than potential draft position, the Giants won’t go down without a fight.
“This season hasn't been going at all anyway that we all wanted it to go. I mean yeah, some players could be tired and ready for this thing to be over, but I can say we all kept a good focus, just try to go out there and do our job week-in and week-out,” Booker said. “The main thing is just showing up. Guys are showing up and wanting to play week-in and week-out, and that's the only thing we can ask for at least, my teammates and the coaches is come, just show up and fight day-in and day-out.”
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