Giants running back Saquon Barkley said more than once in August that he’s tired of hearing criticism of his last two seasons and is looking forward to shutting up those who have been sending it his way.
Barkley’s performance against the Titans in Sunday’s 21-20 win was the kind of outing that will help Barkley realize that goal. He ran 18 times for 164 yards and a touchdown and caught six passes for 30 yards before scoring the go-ahead two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter.
Blasting those who doubted him was not on Barkley’s to-do list when he took the podium for his postgame press conference, however.
“It’s just one game, to be honest,” Barkley said. “That’s how I look at it. Obviously, at the end of the day, I’m excited to get the win. Personally, just got to keep coming in. Something that just keeps tickling me that coach says, ‘Just enjoy the process.’ And that’s something I’ve been battling in the last few years with rehabbing and injuries. That’s been my mindset. No matter what, win, loss, tie, I just want to come here with the same mindset and just keep enjoying the process and come to work every single day. We had a great week of practice and no matter what the result was going to be, we can’t let that alter what happens this week. So we’ve got to keep grinding and keep leaning on each other.”
A Panthers defense that gave up 217 rushing yards to the Browns on Sunday is next up for Barkley and a repeat of what he did against Tennessee will lead a lot of people to say Barkley’s back after a couple of lost seasons.
