LET ME FINISH STRONG
Saquon Barkley wants to show himself that he’s still got it in the Giants’ final three games.
The slumping Giants running back candidly admitted Thursday that he wants to finish this frustrating season strong to pull something positive out of the year.
It was an admission of how poorly Barkley’s fourth season has gone and also a transparent revelation of where he is mentally — and where he’s trying to go.
“I want to — and I might sound a little selfish — but I want to go out there and finish on a high note for myself, too,” Barkley, 24, said. “Obviously, for the team, I want to go out there and try to win all the games that we can. But just for me, (I want) to go out there and finish on a high note, continue to build that confidence and lead into the offseason and get myself prepared and ready for the rest of my career.”
Barkley’s season-high rushing yards for one game is 64. He has four total touchdowns in 10 games. Devontae Booker (506 yards, 4.5 per carry) has been much more effective than Barkley (429, 3.7 per carry) on the ground. There is a chance the Giants will go two straight seasons with a different back as their leading rusher, including Wayne Gallman’s 682 last year.
Barkley thought he was on his way to a major comeback from last year’s torn right ACL when he torched the Saints for 126 total yards and two TDs in a Week 4 road overtime win. But he stepped on Cowboys corner Jourdan Lewis’ foot and badly sprained his left ankle in Week 5, missed four games, and has been a non-factor since.
“I felt very confident that I was going to be able to have a big performance for the team and hopefully be able to turn the season around,” Barkley said. “I run a route, take my eyes off the field for a little bit, step on someone’s foot, out for (four) more weeks.”
Now Barkley is simply trying to find some hope to latch onto before the season ends. He’ll try to find it in Philadelphia and then in Chicago, on the same Soldier Field grass where he tore his knee last season, putting a hard stop on the former No. 2 overall pick’s career.