Giants running back Saquon Barkley’s status for last Sunday was in some doubt due to a neck injury, but there’s no question about his availability for this Sunday’s crucial game against the Commanders.
Barkley is not on the injury report at all and he told reporters that he felt he had his “best practice” on Wednesday. Barkley hopes to use that workout as a springboard back to the kind of productivity he enjoyed earlier this season.
Barkley has 152 yards on 53 carries the last four weeks and said on Thursday that he’s trying to get “back to that mentality of knowing that teams are going to try to stop us, but if I can get going” it will be a major boost to the team.
“My perspective on that is ‘try to make a change. Try to be helpful. Try to make plays.’ That’s where I feel like I’ve got to get back to,” Barkley said, via a transcript from the team. “I feel like I’ve been lacking the last couple of weeks – being the guy, and making explosive plays, especially when it matters most. The only thing I can do there is come here and practice, try to have the best practice I can have. And then when the games come, when the opportunity presents itself, got to capitalize on it.”
The Giants are 0-3-1 during Barkley’s quiet stretch and there’s little doubt that the team’s fortunes are tied to how well they’re able to move the ball on the ground. The Commanders are certainly aware of that, so Barkley will have to find a way to thrive despite having the spotlight directly on him again this weekend.
