When NY Giants running back Saquon Barkley went down late in the fourth quarter of the unreal 31-28 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, panic set in for fans across the country. Barkley is coming off the best season of his career, earning him a trip to the Pro Bowl for the second time.
However, Barkley had to be helped off the field on Sunday and he slammed his helmet in anger while sitting on the bench. As soon as people saw that reaction from the star running back, there was worry that perhaps Barkley had suffered a broken ankle or some other sort of a serious injury.
Fortunately for the NFC East side, that wasn’t the case. According to multiple reports, the NY Giants believe that Barkley suffered a sprained ankle and nothing else. On Monday, Barkley is set to undergo an MRI to confirm that news, but head coach Brian Daboll said that he remains hopeful and optimistic that the NY Giants have avoided the worst-case scenario with their offensive playmaker.
Brian Daboll says Saquon Barkley is currently being examined and that he's "hopeful" Barkley avoided a major injury: pic.twitter.com/ALgHInMHSg
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) September 18, 2023
The NY Giants are expected to be without Saquon Barkley for Week 2
While this is, for now, good news on Barkley, he’s still going to miss some time. It’s up in the air how many games Barkley will be out of action for, but the expectation is that he won’t be able to play for the NY Giants on Thursday night against the San Francisco 49ers.
This is a massive Thursday Night Football tilt for the NY Giants, one that they’re going to be big underdogs for. The 49ers are one of the best teams in the league, with Kyle Shanahan’s men hoping to push for a Super Bowl this winter. Without Barkley, life sure is going to be tough for Daniel Jones and the rest of the offense in Week 3.
In the thrilling win over the Cardinals, Barkley was a beast in the second half. He rushed for 63 yards and a touchdown, while hauling in six passes from Jones for 29 yards and another score. Those two second-half touchdowns proved to be gold for the Giants against Arizona.
Moving forward, several guys are going to have to step up for this offense while Barkley is on the sidelines. At the top, Jones is going to have to take his game to the next level. In the first half vs. the Cardinals, Jones looked rough. However, that wasn’t the case in the second half for the fifth-year QB.
Jones finished the Week 2 victory with 321 passing yards and two touchdowns, adding 59 more yards on the ground with another score. For Jones to post 380 total yards and three touchdowns was fantastic to see. Now, more of the same will be needed from Jones while Barkley can’t suit up.
Again, we don’t know exactly how long Barkley will be out, but the good news is that he shouldn’t be off the field for an extended period of time. That alone is a major victory for Daboll, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and the rest of the staff.
