New York Giants: 5 keys to victory against Jacksonville
No. 5 – Feed Barkley early and often
I know we haven’t seen a lot of Barkley since his exciting 39-yard carry during Week 1 of the preseason against the Cleveland Browns, but still, the team is not about to overthink things or be cautious with him for Sunday.
He undoubtedly will be featured, and he will be featured heavily.
.@saquon - Im definitely ready for a full workload against Jacksonville...I’m excited for the game and to get this season started.
— New York Giants (@Giants) September 3, 2018
Expect Shurmur to give Barkley around 20-25 touches out of the backfield, which is the range most elite backs like Todd Gurley and non-holdout Le’Veon Bell see. That’s not including targets in the passing game where Saquon will also be involved.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with up front with 2017 Defensive Player of the Year candidate Calais Campbell, Pro Bowler Malik Jackson and Abry Jones eating space at the line of scrimmage. That unit, however, wasn’t as dominate stopping the run last season as you might expect.
Jacksonville ranked 21st in the league in rushing yards surrendered per contest with 116.3 yards against.
They also have never had to stop a runner whose legs resemble the base of a California Sequoia tree trunk, so the Giants should take advantage and lean on Barkley early and often.
This rookie is in line for a busy afternoon.