Saquon Barkley Comes Out of Eagles Game Unscathed

Despite dealing with a neck issue, Barkley emerged from Sunday's game no worse for the wear.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Dec 12, 2022 1:57 PM EST

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New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley has missed enough games in his career to where even if he's not at 100 percent, he's going to push through things so long as he gets the green light from the Giants' medical staff to do so.

That happened on Sunday as Barkley, dealing with a sore neck and shoulder that warranted an MRI last week and landed him on the injury report, pushed through any discomfort and partook in a reduced workload plan which saw him limited to just 20 snaps and only nine carries.

"Pretty good," he said when asked how he felt after the game. "Came out of the game pretty well. I’m disappointed in the outcome but should be good."

Barkley, who insisted that he wasn't limited, managed just 28 yards on his nine carries and added two receptions for 20 yards.

While that's better than nothing, historically, the more the Giants have been able to get from their star running back, the better. In 13 career games in which he's had at least 20 carries, the Giants are 10-3, Barkley rushing for 100+ yards in eight of those games.

Barkley's reduced workload was also a result of the Giants falling so far behind the Eagles in Sunday's 48-22 loss that by the time the game was well into the fourth quarter, other key offensive starters like quarterback Daniel Jones and offensive tackles Andrew Thomas and Evan Neal were among those who were given the rest of the game off.

In a way, perhaps, that was a blessing. Barkley, who ran more toward the outside on five of his nine carries, did appear to take some hard hits, but he came through the game no worse for the wear.

That's a positive development for next weekend's big game against Washington, for which Barkley said there is "no doubt" he'll be ready to go.

"I’m just happy that I’m healthy. I was able to go today. Like I said, I would love to have played more, but I look forward to the next opportunity, and I’m probably sure I will have a bigger role than this game.

"Hopefully, he's a little better this week than last week," head coach Brian Daboll said. "I'm hopeful."

So are the rest of the Giants.