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Ottis Anderson knows how the New York Giants can beat the Minnesota Vikings during Super Wild Card Weekend on Sunday, January 15. The formula is simple. Just feed superstar running back Saquon Barkley.
Anderson who was named MVP when the Giants beat the Buffalo Bills 20-19 in Super Bowl XXV, called for Barkley to get the ball “between 20 and 25 times,” per Steve Serby of the New York Post.
The sentiment is echoed by three other great running backs from the Giants’ past, including two of Anderson’s fellow Super Bowl winners.
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Anderson was joined by Rodney Hampton, Joe Morris and Tiki Barber in calling for Barkley to lead the way in Minnesota. Barber, who retired in 2006 as the franchise’s leading rusher, wants Barkley to get “at least 25” touches, “maybe 30.”
Morris, the Giants’ leading rusher during the 39-20 win over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI, doubled down on Barber’s thoughts: “With his ability and the things he can do and the way he can explode. I’d like to see him catch the ball seven times, and I’d like to see him get 25 carries.”
Hampton, who was the Giants’ rushing kingpin before Barber, repeated the desire to see Barkley get “at least 25 touches.” These runners of yesteryear know riding a workhorse back to victory has been a familiar and winning strategy for the Giants in postseasons past.
It worked for the 1993 team when Hampton ran 33 times for 161 yards and two touchdowns to help beat the Vikings 17-10. That was the last time these two teams met at this stage of the playoffs, and these Giants are well equipped to help history repeat itself.
Rodney Hampton wants Barkley to dominate the Vikings the way he did almost 30 years ago.
Before his exploits in ’93, Hampton played on the 1990, title-winning Giants alongside Anderson. A leg injury cost him the chance to feature during the Super Bowl run, but the former running mates share the same opinion about Barkley’s improvement this season.
The player selected second overall in the 2018 NFL draft has stayed healthy and set career-highs with 295 carries and 1,312 yards. He’s also averaged an impressive 4.4 yards per carry, but Anderson and Hampton believe Barkley is being more selective in his search for big plays.
Anderson told Serby: “He’s a little bit more decisive. Every play’s not a home run. It’s important to know what down it is and what the situation is,” while Hampton added “He’s not looking for the home run every time. I think he’s one of the top five backs in the league.”
Barkley did rip off a 27-yard touchdown run the last time the Giants met the Vikings, back in Week 16:
Although he averaged six yards a rush during the 27-24 defeat at U.S. Bank Stadium, Barkley’s true value could be as a receiver in the rematch. It’s an area where perhaps the most versatile back in Giants’ history used to thrive.
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Catching passes was almost as much of a forte as running the ball for Barber. He finished his career with 586 receptions and 12 touchdowns catches, per Pro Football Reference.
Barber thinks exploiting Barkley in the passing game is an easy matchup advantage for the Giants: “It’s stealing. The Vikings don’t have the linebackers to cover Saquon. There’s so many ways to mismatch him, and I’m sure we’ll see that.”
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka has failed to make Barkley a major factor as a receiver, but No. 26 still snagged eight of Daniel Jones’ passes for 49 yards in the first meeting.
Many of his catches came out of 21 personnel, two RBs and one tight end. The Giants used this grouping “on 9.1% of their offensive snaps against the Vikings,” their “second highest amount of the season,” according to Nick Falato of SB Nation’s Big Blue View.
Falato highlighted one example when the Giants quickly targeted Barkley out of the backfield, while fellow runner Matt Breida released to the other flat:
Plays like this were easy ways for Jones and the Giants to steal cheap yards against the league’s second-leakiest pass defense. The Giants amassed 334 yards through the air last time out against the Vikings, but Big Blue’s best chance of avoiding another disappointing defeat is to listen to the legends of the past and turn Barkley loose.
It’s been the winning formula all season, so there’s no need to ignore No. 26 now.
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