Barkley justifies hype with touchdown run
Running back offers glimpse of potential with 68-yard touchdown run
Saquon Barkley’s 68-yard touchdown run gave Giants fans something to cheer after the loss to the Jaguars.
Saquon Barkley needed one play to justify the hype.
After banging and grinding for small gains much of the game, the No. 2 overall draft pick wowed New York Giants’ fans in his NFL debut with a spectacular 68-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown run in a 20-15 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
The Penn State product finished with a game-high 106 yards rushing, caught two passes for 22 yards and showed there was a good reason why he was the mosthyped rookie to join the franchise since Lawrence Taylor started a Hall of Fame career in 1981.
“That’s why we drafted that young man,” Giants coach Pat Shurmur said after the Jaguars spoiled his coaching debut with New York.
Defensive end Calais Campbell, one of six Pro Bowlers on a Jaguars defense that was ranked No. 2 overall last season, was impressed with Barkley after the first few plays of the game, a run for zero and another for minus-3.
“The first run and the first couple of times I tackled him, I said, this kid has something,” Campbell said. “Obviously, you see it on tape, but we didn’t get to watch a lot of tape on him. It’s his college tape. Coming into the NFL against a team like ours, and making some of the plays he made, that kid’s going to be special.”
Campbell said he traded jerseys with Barkley after the game.
“I was like, “OK, if he can stay healthy, he might one day be a Hall of Famer,” Campbell said.
The touchdown run was impressive. Barkley took a handoff from Eli Manning inside, cut it to the outside, stepped out of a tackle attempt and ran down the right sideline, getting a great block from receiver Sterling
Shepard.
“It was amazing; it was a great feeling, but it was a feeling that came and went,” Barkley said. “One touchdown is not going to win the game, and that touchdown didn’t win the game this week, but to get in there, it was a dream come true to find the end zone. I did keep the ball, but it was just like ‘Move on, next play,’ and find a way to get in there again.”
For most of the game, the Jaguars held Barkley in check. Eleven of his 18 carries were for 3 yards or less.
“Yeah, obviously, you wish that they were all 75and 80-yard runs, but it wasn’t like that in college and I didn’t expect it to be like that in the NFL,” the 21-year-old said. “You have to take what they give you. It’s kind of like playing chess: When you get your opportunity, you have to execute.”
Barkley said there was one play where he realized that NFL is going to be a lot different than college. He made a player miss on
a run, broke outside and was tackled by free safety Tashaun Gipson Sr.
“In college, that was a touchdown,” Barkley said. “It was a great play by him.”
It just reminded Barkley that big plays are special.
“Today, we didn’t pop one until like the fourth quarter or end of the third, so you just have to continue to stay with it,” he said. “That’s what I kept saying, the offensive line and also to just stay with it, something is going to pop, and when they give us that chance, we have to make them pay for it.”
Coming off a 3-13 season, the Giants refused to take solace in a good effort, not with a game at Dallas next weekend.
“It’s disappointing when you lose,” Shurmur said. “The one good thing is our team fought from the front to the back. They fought all the way through the game. Unfortunately as is the case in a lot of these games that are close, we just didn’t make enough plays.”
Here’s some things we learned in the Jaguars win:
O-Line Woes
The Giants offense line remains a work in progress.
The revamped group needs to give Manning (23 of 37 for 224) time to find his talented receivers and open holes for Barkley.
Facing a tough pass defense, Manning spent most of the game hitting short passes. There wasn’t much time to look downfield.
Ereck Flowers didn’t have a smooth transition going from left to right tackle. He was whistled for a tripping call and a hold on the opening drive. Left tackle Nate Solder also picked up a holding call.
Too Many Flags
The Jaguars biggest problem was penalties. They were called 11 times for 119 yards.
“We know that we can be better than that,” coach Doug Marrone said. “At the end of day, we were able to get the win. If you keep on that track, that stuff will bite you.”
Beckham Back
Stop worrying about the left ankle Odell Beckham Jr. broke in October. In his first game in almost 11 months, the NFL’s top-paid receiver was the best player on the field. He caught 11 passes for 111 yards and
drew two pass interference penalties late in the first half to set up a field goal.
“Just being out there and competing with the best, I wish we would have gotten a win, but at the same time it’s a good starting point for our team,” Beckham said.
Injuries
Marrone wasn’t concerned about Leonard Fournette, who finished with nine carries for 41. Backup T.J. Yeldin led the team with 14 carries for 51 yards and Blake Bortles had four for 42. Jacksonville rushed for 137 yards.
“He’s had it before, he knows how to treat it,” Marrone said of Fournette. “That makes things pretty optimistic, which normally I’m not that optimistic.”
Giants’ New Dee
Coordinator James Bettcher’s 3-4 scheme limited the Jaguars to 305 yards, including 121 in the second half. Janoris Jenkins had an interception and the Jags tight ends and receivers combined for 12 catches, with only two plays being 20 or more yards.