–Giants running back Saquon Barkley was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his 142-yard, 27-carry performance last week in a 38-35 win over the Bucs.
Barkley, who becomes only the second Giants rookie since tight end Jeremy Shockey in 2002 to win the award since its inception, was also the first Giants player to score three touchdowns in a game since Odell Beckham Jr. had three touchdown receptions in New Orleans on Nov. 1, 2015 and the first Giants running back to score three touchdowns from scrimmage since Ahmad Bradshaw scored on three one-yard runs vs. Buffalo on Oct. 16, 2011.
“This week, (head) Coach (Pat Shurmur) challenged me to get more dirtier in the runs and get those three- to four-yard runs,” Barkley said. “If I quickened up my pace through the mesh, getting to the line of scrimmage faster than what I’ve normally been doing, it will help things develop a lot quicker.”
He did just that, looking as comfortable as he’s been since becoming a giant in their running game. And his teammates have noticed the improvement.
“I think he’s improved every week and I think he’s a guy who wants to be great, wants to get better,” said quarterback Eli Manning.
“If there’s something he thinks he can improve on, whether it’s just in a route or in protection or the way he’s running, he takes the coaching well and I thought he just ran with a little more sense of urgency and just hitting the holes hard and you can see it and it paid off. He had his best game.”
Shurmur has been beyond pleased with the progress made by the team’s highest first-round draft pick since Lawrence Taylor in 1981.
“Each week the coaches tell them what they did well and things they need to improve on, and there’s always little things he needs to improve on. He’s obviously an outstanding runner, he catches the ball well, does a good job in pass protection, so he just needs to keep working on all those things,” Shurmur said.
“Again, it’s more of a mindset as a runner, and then I’ve got to call plays that will relegate that he’s going to take some dirty five-six yard runs where he can stick it up in there, and we’ve got to block well for him. It’s all coordinated, but you like to build on some of the things you saw.”
The good news, according to Shurmur, is that Barkley is all ears when it comes to taking coaching.
“When you see a player of Saquon’s caliber, the dirty runs, and he embraces it, that’s another part of his personality that’s outstanding because he’s coachable,” he said.
“People that thought that was the right thing to do told him to do it and he did it. That’s awesome. You don’t always see that from great, high-caliber, high-quality players, so that’s another box we can check on him.”
BY THE NUMBERS: 68 – Yards needed by WR Odell Beckham Jr. to reach 1,000 yards receiving for the fourth time in his career. Beckham faces an Eagles secondary that has been decimated by injuries this year.
