There’s no sugarcoating it: One more loss likely ends the New York Giants’ playoff hopes in 2023.
And star running back Saquon Barkley had a message for his teammates ahead of Week 14’s Monday Night Football matchup versus the Green Bay Packers.
“We in this m*****f*****,” Barkley proclaimed while speaking with New York media on Friday, December 8.
The unfiltered response came after a reporter asked Barkley what the locker room uses for motivation heading into Week 14 and beyond.
“Imma keep it real,” the team captain went on. “We’re not looking too far. We’re not looking at in the hunt or the playoff pictures but if we take care of what we’ve got to take care of, everyone can say what they want about the season but it’s week whatever and everything we want is still there.”
“We don’t need no extra motivation,” Barkley added later, explaining: “Every game is a critical game no matter what. Especially now, so Monday night we’ve got a team who’s hot — I think they won their last three or four games — we won our last two games. No more excuses.”
He expressed that the goal is still the playoffs and the Super Bowl until the Giants are mathematically eliminated.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley Urges Team on With Unwillingness to Surrender
After a follow-up question pondered if Barkley would have had the same response two weeks ago, the playmaker’s leadership took over the moment.
“I’ve been saying it,” Barkley repeated a couple of times.
Continuing: “I’ve been saying it and I’ve always believed it… I know it sounds like I’m beating a dead horse but I truly, truly believe that. I’m one of those guys, if I’m in a fight and I got my a** kicked for 11 rounds, the 12th round — in my head — if I can knock you out and get the win, then that’s how it’s going [to] happen.”
Barkley’s unwillingness to surrender is what makes him a tremendous leader. It’s also one of the reasons the Giants elected not to trade him at the midseason deadline despite an uncertain future.
General manager Joe Schoen talked about it during the bye week. Sometimes you have to consider how a trade will impact the locker room, not just the on-field product.
With Barkley, Big Blue must consider the person as well as the player when they discuss an extension in 2024. The first-round running back has turned into the face of the franchise and he’s never shied away from that responsibility — whether that’s showing maturity during a playoff run or fortitude during a 4-8 start.
Giants’ Saquon Barkley Nominated for Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award
Speaking of high character and leadership, Barkley was nominated as the NYG representative for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award — which has been referred to as the league’s most prestigious honor.
The ball-carrier called the nomination “awesome” and “an honor” on December 8, noting that it’s “truly a blessing” to be one of the 32 players considered for the award.
This is the second time that Barkley has been up for the Walter Payton Man of the Year. In 2023, his community impact includes working with and speaking to the at-risk and homeless youth population in the New York City area.
“Especially with the homeless, I kind of can relate to that a little bit more,” Barkley said. “Definitely battling that when I was a child. My parents did a really good job of making sure I never really noticed it when I was a kid, but growing up and just hearing the stories — especially what my father [has] been through living in abandoned houses and jumping around here and there.”
Barkley concluded that if there’s any way he can “give back and make a change” either here in NYC or in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania where he went to high school, he will. That’s the New York Giants’ Man of the Year.
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Saquon Barkley Has Unfiltered Message for Giants Ahead of Packers Clash