Texans vs. Giants: Defense must stop Saquon Barkley

The Houston Texans have to face one of the more dynamic rookies in quite some time when the New York Giants bring Saquon Barkley to Texas on Sunday for their Week 3 game.

Even with the New York Giants being 0-2 as they take on the winless Houston Texans in Week 3 this upcoming Sunday, the Giants won’t be a walk in the park with the Giants bringing the No. 2 overall pick to the game in Saquon Barkley who is just one play from changing the pace and momentum of any game he plays in.

Barkley — who earned national accolades while at Penn State for three seasons — has played two games for the Giants against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Dallas Cowboys. When facing one of the top defenses in the league during Week 1 against the Jaguars, Barkley rushed 18 times for 106 yards and one touchdown. In that game, he also caught two passes for 22 yards.

In Week 2 against the Cowboys, Barkley didn’t have nearly the game rushing he did in Week 1. The Cowboys defense held Barkley to 11 rushes for 28 yards, but his receiving yardage stood out with 14 receptions for 80 yards, averaging 5.7 yards per reception.

For the season, Barkley is averaging 4.6 yards per carry and 6.4 yards per reception, with totals of 134 yards rushing and 102 yards receiving. Those near-balanced numbers make Barkley such a dangerous player to game plan for and play against the Texans. The Texans not only have to worry about Barkley making the big run like he did against Jacksonville when he rushed for a 68-yard touchdown in his NFL debut, but he can also make plays with his receiving abilities.

Barkley also makes players like quarterback Eli Manning and wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard very dangerous, because although he’s not the greatest of the Manning brothers, the Giants quarterback is still capable of having a game where he takes over with the wide receivers he has at his disposal.

The Texans are 21st in rushing yards allowed per game with 111.0 in their first two games as they’ve faced running backs such as Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis of the Titans and Rex Burkhead, Jeremy Hill and James White of the New England Patriots.

This weekend, it will be fun to see a player with the abilities and hype that surrounds Barkley each and every time he steps onto the field. The Giants put a lot of stock in him when they drafted the running back over a quarterback in the first round, but it is up to the Texans to make sure they aren’t the team that Barkley really makes his mark on early in his career.