On Sunday, Giants running back Saquon Barkley got off to a slow start against the Jaguars. In the first half, Barkley had only 18 yards on nine carries.
After the win, Barkley explained why he was not effective in the first half.
“You never want to take credit from another team,” Barkley said. “They did a great job. But that was me. I was running soft, thinking about the wrong things. (The) O-line was playing lights out. I’ve got to do a better job hitting the hole. But I’ll find a way to get on fire a little bit closer to the end of the game. I’ve got to go a better job starting out faster.”
The second half was a much different story for Barkley; He rushed for 92 yards on 15 carries and finished the day with 110 yards on 24 carries. It was Barkley’s third 100-yard game of the season as New York ran for 236 yards against the Jaguars.
Barkley was asked about “thinking about the wrong things,” and he said the following.
“Just not going out there and being 26,” he said. “Just got to go back out there and trust in it. We have a great system. We have a great offensive line, great players. They’ve been doing a great job putting me in position to be successful, and I’ve got to make those plays, and I wasn’t making those plays in the first half, so I’ve got to be ready for the team.”
On Monday, Giants head coach Brian Daboll discussed Barkley’s criticism of himself.
“That’s what you love about Saquon is he’s never satisfied,” Daboll said. “I’m happy he’s on our team. We could have blocked plays better, too. I think he’s a very good leader for us. He obviously owns some of the things that happened, but I would say it’s more of a collective effort than just Saquon Barkley; he did a good job for us.”
Barkley is one of the leaders on this team, and after seven games, he’s second in the NFL in rushing yards with 726 yards. Over the past two seasons, Barkley has battled injuries, but at this point, he’s balling, and more importantly, the Giants are 6-1.
