Week 5 for the New York Giants is a must-win game for them, and for good reason. They currently sport a 1-3 record, and it will get even more harder for them to make the playoffs with another loss. They'll be up against one of the best teams in the league in the Miami Dolphins. Unfortunately, the Giants still will be without one of their best weapons: Saquon Barkley is not expected to play for New York, per Ian Rapoport.
“The #Giants are not expected to have RB Saquon Barkley in today's game against the #Dolphins, sources say. Still dealing with that high-ankle sprain, it doesn't appear he's quite ready. But closer.”
Barkley suffered an ankle injury during the Giants' lone win of the season against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2. While Barkley dodged a major injury, the ankle is still clearly being a bother to him. The star running back will need at least one more week to recover from his injury.
Article Continues BelowThis is not good news for the Giants' offense, which has been abysmal without Saquon Barkley. The absence of Barkley and star tackle Andrew Thomas has hurt New York's ability to move the chains properly. Without an elite running back to take pressure off, Daniel Jones has regressed back to his pre-2022 form. The Giants' ailing line hasn't helped, either: New York gave up a whopping 11 sacks to the Seahawks' pass-rush in Week 4.
The Dolphins' defense is the lesser concern for the Giants, though. New York is looking to try and stymie the fearsome Miami attack on offense. They hit a speed bump against Buffalo, but against a significantly worse defense, Miami is looking to reassert their dominance. The Giants have to either go toe-to-toe with the Dolphins offense (a tough ask without their two most important players), or pray that they find a way to stop the Mike McDaniel offense.