New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley takes the blame for the team’s lost fumble in the midst of Sunday’s loss.
The turnover woes continued for New York Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones on Sunday. In the first quarter of what was to be a 31-26 loss to the Detroit Lions, Jones was hit as he threw a pass to Saquon Barkley. The second-year back was running a swing route to the right flat.
Jones’ pass fell incomplete, however, was backward. Therefore, the Lions’ Devon Kennard (who’s a former Giant) scooped the fumble and brought it in for the score. It goes on the stat sheet as a lost fumble for Jones, his sixth of the year. But it’s Barkley who’s taking the blame for the mishap that led to the Lions taking the early lead.
“I think they did a really good job delaying the blitz. That’s my guy,” Barkley said about the missed blitz pickup, per Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. “Once I turned to go [in a route], he blitzed and the end dropped onto me.”
Barkley then touched upon what he thought was a lack of effort on the obvious backward pass.
“There’s no excuse,” he said. “That’s not who I am. That’s not the type of player I am. That’s not the reason why I’m a captain. I have to have a better effort on that play. [Running backs] coach [Craig] Johnson stresses that all the time: When you are the swings and the ball goes down, just in case, cover it, cover it, cover it!”
Barkley carried the ball 19 times for 64 yards in the loss. He additionally caught eight balls for 79 yards and a touchdown through the air.
Jones, on the other hand, had arguably the best game of his rookie campaign when it came to throwing the ball. The first-year pro completed 28 of his 41 passes for 322 yards, four touchdowns, and zero picks.
With the fourth consecutive loss, the Giants have fallen to 2-6 ahead of their Week 9 Monday night matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.
