The Green Bay Packers Face A Monumental Task In Taming Giants’ Star Barkley

Dalvin Cook and David Montgomery have both done it twice.

Josh Jacobs, Christian McCaffrey, Raheem Mostert, Ronald Jones, James Robinson and Nick Chubb have done it, as well.

All of these running backs have eclipsed 100 yards rushing since Matt LaFleur took over as the Green Bay Packers’ head coach in 2019. And over the last three-plus seasons, stopping the run has been a major issue for LaFleur’s teams.

Green Bay could face its toughest test of the LaFleur-era, though, Sunday when it tries slowing down Saquon Barkley and the New York Giants in a game being played in London at 8:30 a.m. (CST).

Barkley is the NFL’s leading rusher, averaging 115.8 yards per game. Barkley is on pace for 1,968 rushing yards, which would be the ninth-highest total in NFL history.

The Giants have a mediocre offensive line and a wide receiver group that’s been devastated by injury. Thanks in large part to Barkley, though, New York has the NFL’s No. 1 rushing attack (192.5) and is off to a surprising 3-1 start.

“Phenomenal player. Phenomenal talent,” Green Bay defensive coordinator Joe Barry said. “He’s explosive. He’s big. They do a great job of throwing the ball to him as well. They find ways to get him the ball, not just turning around and handing him the ball. He’s the best in our business right now, statistically.

“He’s just an all-around complete back. It’s got to be a collective group effort this week because you can’t tackle that guy with one person. It’s got to be population to the ball. Unbelievable player. Unbelievable talent.”

Now, combine Barkley’s exploits with the fact Green Bay is in the bottom-third of the league stopping the run.

The Packers currently rank 22^nd against the run, allowing 126.8 yards per game. They’re also 22^nd in yards allowed per carry at 5.0.

Stopping the run has been a consistent problem under LaFleur, whether Mike Pettine (2019-20) or Joe Barry (2021-22) has been the defensive coordinator.

Green Bay ranked 23^rd in the NFL against the run in 2019 (120.1) and 27^th in yards per carry (4.9). The Packers finished 13^th in rushing defense in 2020 (112.8) and 11^th last year (109.1), but still ranked just 18^th in yards per carry in 2020 (4.5) and 28^th in 2021 (4.6).

This year, things have been even worse.

Cook ran for 90 yards in Week 1, averaged 4.5 yards per carry and led Minnesota to a 23-7 win over Green Bay. Chicago’s Montgomery ran for 122 yards and averaged 8.1 yards carry in a Week 2 loss.

And last week, despite the fact New England was down to a third string quarterback, the Patriots ran for 167 yards and averaged 5.0 yards per carry.

“Man, we’ve got to just focus up, honestly,” Packers nose tackle Kenny Clark said. “There’s too much inconsistencies when you talk about the run game with us. We’ll have two good quarters, and then the third quarter we’ll have a little lull and let guys get going and let their momentum get going. We’ve got to find a different way to just find that consistency.”

Rookie inside linebacker Quay Walker agreed.

“I just think it’s always coming down to us killing blocks, getting off of blocks and just knowing how to fit the runs up, just being physical,” Walker said. “It just takes getting off the blocks and just making the play. You can’t stay attached to blocks. You’ve got to know who you’re using in the run fit and those types of things. That always correlates to stopping the run.”

During LaFleur’s time in Green Bay, the Packers have seen plenty of elite backs. But Barkley may be playing better than any of them right now.

Barkley, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, was the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year that season when he had more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 15 total touchdowns. Barkley ran for 1,307 yards, averaged 5.0 yards per rush, caught a whopping 91 passes and didn’t fumble.

Barkley’s numbers slipped a bit in 2019 (1,441 total yards, eight TDs) when he battled a high ankle sprain. Then Barkley’s career hit a crossroads when he suffered a torn ACL in Week 2 of 2020.

Barkley spent the rest of that season on injured reserve. Then when Barkley returned in 2021, he lacked his previous burst and elusiveness and averaged just 3.7 yards per carry, ran for 593 yards and had four total touchdowns.

This season, though, Barkley looks like his old self.

He’s averaging 5.5 yards per carry. He ran for 164 yards in Week 1 and 146 yards in Week 4. And he’s tied for the Giants’ lead in receptions with 15.

“Great running back,” Clark said. “You can tell that he’s healthy now. He’s a powerful back. He can run behind the tackles and get those yards inside.

“When he gets out in space, he’s very elusive. He can run with the best of them and he’s got that breakout speed. I’ve got a lot of respect for his game. He’s a great back. He got drafted when he got drafted for a reason.”

Added linebacker Preston Smith, who’s faced Barkley three times in his career: “He’s a pretty stout guy. Has some big legs, he’s hard to take down and he’s a guy that’s going to fight for extra yards and continue to move the pile if you let him. He’s going to try to make a big play, no matter what — spin off tackles and try to keep moving forward.”

Barkley will be one of the few weapons the Giants have on offense.

New York wide receivers Kenny Golladay (knee) and Kadarius Toney (hamstring) are out. Quarterback Daniel Jones will be trying to play through an ankle injury.

So the Giants’ offense figures to be Barkley, Barkley and more Barkley.

Will the Packers — and their suspect run defense — be up to the challenge?

“I know we can be better and we will be better,” Barry said. “We have to be better, quite frankly, because we’re going up against the No. 1 rush offense in the National Football League.

“We know how explosive Saquon Barkley can be. It’s going to be a great challenge for our defense, just to consistently go out there and perform at a high level. We’re going to have to be on point.”

Which is something the Packers haven’t been in 2022.