Saquon Barkley Wants to Be a Giant for Life

The Giants were not shy to feature their star running back to earn their seventh win of the season. And he wasn't shy in expressing his preferences about his future.

Author:
Andrew Parsaud
Publish date:
Nov 13, 2022 9:34 PM EST

In this story:

New York Giants

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- This is what franchise players do: They load their teammates on their backs and carry them across the finish line, no matter what is asked of them.

And this is what New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley did in Sunday's 24-16 win over the Houston Texans. He took it to another level this week, totaling 35 carries for 152 yards and one touchdown. Barkley’s 35 carries on the day was a career-high and the most carries for any running back this season. His rushing yardage total was his 16th career 100-yard performance and his fourth-bet showing in five seasons.

"The thing, I think, with him is (he) takes a lot of shots. So, we try to do the best job we can – the medical staff, the sports science – of practicing him the right way," said head coach Brian Daboll after the game.

"This week, he was fresh. So, he had a really good week of practice. We were handing him the ball at the 20 (yard line), and he was running the ball to the end zone, 80 yards, and then coming back and doing it again. So, I thought that the stuff he did during the week carried over. He’s having a good season for us. He had a good day."

The Giants were adamant about exploiting the Texans’ 32nd-ranked run defense and found success doing so. Barkley was ecstatic about receiving a heavy workload.

“It’s really fun, to be honest. At the end of the day, as I said, I just want to find a way to win games, and today that was the mindset that we needed to get the job done, and we were able to get it done.”

Barkley said he hadn’t received that many carries before in his career, college or professional. He did carry the ball 31 times in Week 4 against Chicago, but this game topped that.

“In college, I think I touched the ball like 40 times against Iowa. I think that’s the most because I think I had 28 carries and 12 catches against Iowa," he said. "It’s my job to be a pro, go in there, get in the cold tub, get in the hot tub and get ready for next week.”

Barkley is finally doing something he so desperately wanted to do since being drafted: winning. The Giants are 7-2 and among the NFC's top teams. Each win puts the Giants closer to the playoffs, something Barkley has yet to experience, and the Giants haven’t done since the 2016 season.

“To be completely honest, it feels good. You’re not too excited about it because you know it’s a long season, and you got to keep going week by week. Being healthy during it is not something I’m shocked about," Barkley said.

"I believe in having positive thinking. I’ve been vocal about it when I was hurt that I feel like we’re going to get back on track, and I want to be part of the reason to help us get back on track. We’re doing it right now, 7-2, great start, especially coming off a bye week and a loss. That was our mindset, come out and go 1-0. We were able to do that, and now we have to build on that next week.”

The Giants are notorious for being a second-half team this year, something they haven’t exactly liked. The offense had stagnated in the first half, averaging only 7.5 points in the first two quarters.

“We just got to keep getting better – it was the little things, to be completely honest. It was the little things, and that’s all around, that’s all of us. It starts with me being a leader and captain of the team. We’ll go back, watch film. It’s easier to learn from it and have to cope with it after a win. Make sure we lock in, improve and get ready for Detroit.”

Speaking of Barkley and the future, he confirmed a report that the Giants reached out to his agent about a contract extension over the bye.

“I think I’ve kind of been vocal before contracts were even brought up about how I feel about this place," Barkley said. "What I want my legacy to be in this place, and I want to be a Giant for life. As I said, I’ve been vocal about that, so if the conversation gets brought up again, we’ll go from there.”