Saquon Barkley has yet to deliver an explosive game in 2025. The New York Giants don’t want to be his first victim.
“You don't want to be the team to let him get hot,” defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence said Tuesday ahead of New York's Week 6 home game against the Philadelphia Eagles, via the team’s official transcript. “So, you’ve got to stay disciplined Thursday and go win.”
In five games, Barkley has 267 rushing yards and three rushing scores. He has not topped 90 rushing yards or reached 100 scrimmage yards in any week.
After a 2,005-yard 2024 campaign, Barkley has yet to blast off. His season-long rush thus far is 17 yards. Last year, he had 17 rushes of 20-plus yards and seven 40-plus yarders.
At this stage, the chicken-or-egg question is whether the grind of 345 carries last year is wearing on Barkley -- as it does historically with 2K runners -- or if his usage under new offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo is the root cause. The reality is probably a bit of both.
In Week 6, Barkley had six carries for 30 yards, the fewest carries since Week 11, 2021, with the Giants -- six carries coming off injury.
With the Eagles losing their first game of the season and the firestorm created by Barkley’s usage, the Giants expect Philly to try to jumpstart the run game on Thursday night.
“I think everybody expects that," safety Tyler Nubin told the New York Post. “When you don’t get your best guy involved and don’t get the result that you want, obviously things are gonna change. Definitely ready for that."
Barkley has generated fewer than 50 rush yards in three straight games -- the Eagles star had one such game all of 2024. He’s never had four consecutive, even in his days of running behind poor Big Blue O-lines.
Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke sees the struggles as a product of teams selling out to stop the run. He also expects Barkley to get fed in prime time this week.
“I think everybody’s response is understanding they’re gonna try to run the ball," Okereke said. “Saquon is a high-impact player and every time he steps on the field, he’s got potential to be the best player on the field."
Barkley faced his former club once last season; he sat out Week 17. In that Week 6 game, the running back ripped New York for 176 rushing yards and a score on 17 carries.
If Barkley rushes for 99-plus yards on Thursday night, he’d break the mark for most rushing yards by any player in his first two career games against a former team since 1950, per NFL Research. The previous mark is 275 yards by Travis Henry (with Tennessee and Denver) versus Buffalo.
The Giants rank 26th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed in 2025 (140.0) and 29th in yards per carry (5.3), and have allowed 22 rushes of 10-plus yards, third-most in the league.