EAST RUTHERFORD — The jeers were so intense almost every time Saquon Barkley touched the ball that at one point during the Eagles’ third drive, some confused Giants fans mistakenly booed Kenneth Gainwell.
They were so dialed in on making Barkley’s life hell in the former Giants star’s return to MetLife Stadium that they were unaware the Eagles’ backup running back had subbed into the game to take a carry.
Yet it was Barkley who had the last laugh and left the Meadowlands on Sunday with just about everything he could have hoped for: a season-high 176 yards on 17 carries, three of those explosive ones, plus a touchdown amid a 28-3 Eagles victory.
“I know the type of player that he was to this organization and who he was to me, so I have nothing but respect for him,” said Giants nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, who played alongside Barkley for five seasons. “I can’t control how other people feel about it, but I know who he is.”
Fans had every right to boo Barkley, of course. The Giants offered him less money, yes, but it was still his choice to sign a contract in March with the rival Eagles, of all teams, after previously stating his desire to be a Giant for life. And it’s not like the former No. 2 overall draft pick elevated the franchise. He’s fourth in Giants history in rushing yards – still less than half of what did Tiki Barber achieved – but the team posted an abysmal 25-48-1 record with Barkley on the field from 2018-23.
That’s not to say he wasn’t a talented player in New York, or that the team’s lack of success was his fault. But it confirmed the notion that he wouldn’t be enough of a difference-maker at a less premium position to be drafted that high for an organization with far too many deficiencies. And when it comes down to it, Giants fans are going to associate Barkley with losing.
Ultimately then, it was the right decision for both sides to part ways, but it can’t erase the sting of Sunday’s one-sided outcome.
Still with as many problems on offense as they did before Barkley left, the Giants are simply an unwatchable product right now. In four home games the unit has scored only one touchdown and 31 points in 41 drives, excluding two kneel downs and the last 19 seconds of Sunday’s game.
That is just staggeringly pathetic.
Let this soak in: Barkley outgained the entire Giants offense by himself despite not touching the ball after the third quarter because of the game being a blowout.
Even more brutal is that the Giants’ 119 total yards were the fewest in a game for the franchise since it had 107 in Week 1 of the 1999 season.
“The three areas that we continue to work on over and over again are third down, red zone and explosive plays,” beleaguered head coach Brian Daboll said. “We try to get as many reps as we can in those critical situations. We only have so many reps we can give (in practice), but third down, red zone, pushing the ball down the field, those are things we work at, I would say, every single day. It’s not where it needs to be.”
The latest excuse is that left tackle Andrew Thomas is out for the season after suffering a foot injury last Sunday, but the Giants have failed to establish a contingency plan for their most indispensable player, who also missed seven games last year with a hamstring injury.
Not to mention, the Eagles were down two starting offensive linemen once right guard Mekhi Becton was ruled out with a concussion early in the second quarter.
The Giants are one of few NFL teams that operate like they’re playing offense in a phone booth with virtually no explosive plays. Often times there are execution problems, and other times the playcalling becomes suspect.
How do you attempt only three runs with your running backs in the first half when the score is close and you don’t have your elite blindside protector?
Quarterback Daniel Jones, meanwhile, finished with fewer than 100 passing yards for only the fourth time in 66 career starts, and one of the other occurrences was the game where he torn his ACL against the Raiders last year.
In a combination of poor play from Jones and offensive line breakdowns, the Giants allowed a season-high seven sacks. They mercifully replaced Jones with backup Drew Lock at the 11:26 mark of the fourth quarter “to create a spark,” Daboll said, which ironically led to the loudest cheers all afternoon from Giants fans.
The Giants’ longest play of the day was a 14-yard pass from Jones to Malik Nabers, yet Daboll says Jones will remain the quarterback going forward.
“We have some guys around him that I think can create explosive plays, and we’ll just go back to the drawing board and do the very best we can to try to improve that area,” said Daboll, not exactly offering a ringing endorsement for his quarterback. The failure to do so reflects poorly on Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen, who haven’t come close to putting a consistently solid team onto the field in Year 3 of this regime.
And this has to be painful to stomach for team president John Mara, who loved Barkley and likely found himself in his stadium suite once again contemplating what to do about his bumbling franchise.
It was no secret that Barkley would be a good player on a superior Eagles team this season. But to do what he did Sunday against his former team was an awful look for the Giants, who at this point have dug so many rock bottoms in the last seven years that you’d need an archaeologist to find the bottom.
“To be honest, I’m so happy this game is over,” Barkley said. “Don’t think I should be asked about the Giants anymore.”
Greg Johnson is a staff writer for the Trentonian, a MediaNews Group newspaper
