The New York Giants did not only lose the battle against the Dallas Cowboys, 23-16, they also lost the war after they lost wide receiver Sterling Shepard to what appears to be a serious knee injury during the dying embers of the game. To rub salt on the Giants' wound, Shepard's injury occurred during their final offensive play of the night that saw quarterback Daniel Jones throw an interception that sealed the loss. In the middle of the ruckus, running back Saquon Barkley was heartbroken when he saw his good friend in pain on the ground.

Saquon Barkley, who had 14 carries for 81 yards (and one touchdown), didn't even think about his team's loss during the heat of the moment. The first thing that came to his mind was the well-being of Sterling Shepard.

“It's hard. I would say I'm one of the biggest competitors, but when I saw Shep was down, I was like, ‘What the heck is happening?'” Barkley said, per ESPN. “Obviously I realized it was a pick, but in that moment, you see him on the ground, I didn't even want to walk over there. I dropped, said a quick prayer and… it's tough.”

Not only is it a tough sight to see a player go down with an injury, but the Giants also need a player of Shepard's caliber if they were to achieve their goals this season. According to ESPN, Shepard leads the Giants' receiving corps with the most snaps (157) and the most receiving yards accumulated (154) through the first three games. His absence will be such a tough pill to swallow for the Giants as a whole.

Saquon Barkley also knows the injury troubles Shepard had to deal with in the past. The 29-year old wideout missed a considerable amount of time after he tore his Achilles in Week 15 last season against, weirdly enough, the Cowboys, and Shepard might be looking again at an ample amount of time on the sidelines.

“He's been through a lot of injuries recently, it's tough to come back and battle the way he has, from an Achilles, and to go down on a play like that, it's a tough way to end an emotional game,” Barkley added.

The Giants' loss to the Cowboys ended their 2-0 start to the season, and Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones, and the rest of the Giants offense must step up to cover for Shepard's injury, beginning with their tilt against the 2-1 Chicago Bears.