Saquon Barkley responds to fantasy owners after avoiding touchdown
Mar 1, 2018; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley speaks during a radio interview during the 2018 NFL Combine at the Indianapolis Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley made a heads-up play late in Sunday’s victory, albeit one that had his fantasy owners fuming.
With just under a minute and a half left in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, Barkley intentionally avoided a touchdown run and slid short of the goal line instead. The Ravens were trying to let Barkley score in order to get the ball back as quickly as possible, but Barkley was aware of that and made sure to go down after he had secured a key first down.
Saquon Barkley fantasy owners are LIVID right now 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/LMXpIxNHa0
— Brian Y (@byysports) October 16, 2022
Barkley turning down the easy touchdown was the right decision from every perspective but one. Anyone who owned Barkley in fantasy football had to watch him give up free points and probably was not happy about it.
The running back acknowledged this after the game. He did not exactly apologize, but he did at least recognize their pain.
Saquon Barkley knows fantasy owners will not be happy with his slide at the 2. “But I gotta job to do,” he said. It was a play that helped them win. #giants pic.twitter.com/OG5cR0ix3i
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) October 16, 2022
This has happened before to a different running back. Players are definitely aware of these things, albeit more after the fact than anything else.
The good news is that Barkley did score one touchdown earlier in the game, his fourth score of the season. It would be pretty tough for fantasy owners to complain too much about that output.
