The good news for the Giants is that running back Saquon Barkley has rediscovered the health, and the form, that made him a great running back early in his career. The bad news for the Giants is that Barkley is pretty much all they have on offense.
They need help at receiver. Plenty of it. Especially with receiver Sterling Shepard likely out for the year after suffering a late-game, non-contact knee injury in Monday night’s loss to the Cowboys.
Big-money 2021 free-agent acquisition Kenny Golladay continues to be a major disappointment. Although he was on the field for 24 of the offensive snaps (up from two in Week Two), he was targeted only three times, with no catches. He had a critical drop on third and thirteen, with the Giants trailing by only seven in the fourth quarter.
High-profile 2021 first-rounder Kadarius Toney also continues to underwhelm. He missed last night’s game due to injury. In two games this year, he has two receptions for zero yards.
Obviously, they need more (or anything) from Golladay and Toney. As explained over the weekend, they’ve tried to get Cole Beasley -- and still can. He’s on the Tampa Bay practice squad. If/when the Giants make him an offer he won’t refuse, they can add him to the active roster.
Beyond that, there’s not much more than can be done. The guys they have aren’t consistently getting open, not quickly enough to keep quarterback Daniel Jones from being relentlessly harassed. Last night, he was hurried 24 times, hit 12 times, sacked five times.
And while he’s no longer holding the ball too long in the pocket, he’s often waiting too long to pull the trigger once he has left it. But what else can he do if guys aren’t open?
Barkley can only do so much. Jones can only do so much. At some point, they need others to step up. And if they can’t or won’t, the Giants need to look wherever they can for help.