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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Jeevan Kirkland

Giants vs. Raiders Player of the Game: Saquon Barkley

The New York Giants were blown out again, this time by the Las Vegas Raiders, 30-6, on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas, Nevada.

After losing Daniel Jones early to injury, the Giants were left with their third-string quarterback for the second straight week and the offense was once again a disaster. Zero first-half touchdowns appear to be a trend for this Giants team this season.

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With this loss the Giants fall to 2-7 and the season outlook looks as bleak as ever. The Giants are not officially eliminated from playoffs yet but that will come soon enough. With Jones likely to miss some significant time the Giants are very much in the Caleb Williams sweepstakes.

In a game like this that feels like a season-ending loss, it’s hard to name a player of the game. However, this one will go to Saquon Barkley, who, despite everything, fought for every yard that he could get.

Even with a banged-up offensive line and a nonexistent passing attack, Barkley was able to rush for 90 yards on 16 carries. His 5.6 yards per carry led all rushers (minimum three attempts) in the contest. The former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year was able to achieve this mark by rarely getting brought down by the first defender fighting for the extra yards.

Barkley also added three catches for 23 yards on the day, providing a safety blanket for the rookie Tommy DeVito.

Barkley will likely see stacked boxes like he has these past games for the rest of the season if Jones continues to miss time. The Giants’ inability to pass makes it that much harder for the Penn State product to find any running room making it that much more impressive for him to put up numbers as he did in Week 9.

After holding out for some time in the offseason, Barkley was rewarded with a one-year contract featuring just over $10 million in guaranteed money. The sixth-year running back has done his best to show that he is worth that money and more this season as he has run for 502 yards in six games while also adding 110 yards as a receiver.

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