New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley was heavily criticized by Tiki Barber following a 26-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday.
Barkley struggled against the Steelers, rushing for only six yards on 15 carries. Following his awful performance on the ground, Barber questioned Barkley's pass protection abilities and even said that he might not a “every down back.”
“Saquon Barkley, he might not be an every down back. He cannot pass protect. And it is starting becoming glaring. It’s probably the only issue he had to deal with coming into the NFL [because] he wasn’t asked to do it at Penn State,” Barber said on CBS Sports Radio.
During an interview with reporters on Thursday, the Giants star was asked if he was bothered by Barber's comments. Instead of taking a sign of disrespect, Barkley responded that he'll take it as a challenge instead.
“No. It does not,” Barkley said, via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. “To be completely honest, no disrespect to anyone, I truly don’t care about other people’s opinion. Guys on my team and in this building won’t question my to ‘ughness.'
“Obviously Tiki’s a legend. He did a lot of great things for this franchise. So I’m not going to look at this as disrespect. I’m going to look at it as a challenge.”
The former second-overall pick also talked about how he'll bounce from his awful performance in the Giants' Week 1 defeat.
Saquon Barkley on bouncing back from his awful game: "It happened. I had 15 carries and six yards. Guess what? I came to work with a smile on my face, ready to work and get better."
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano) September 17, 2020
The Giants schedule will only get harder from here, as they play the Chicago Bears on Sunday and the San Francisco 49ers in Week 3.
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