Saquon Barkley made a good first impression at MetLife Stadium. Photo by Al Thompson

No card carrying member of Giants Nation gave a hoot about whether Big Blue knocked off Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns at MetLife Stadium Thursday night.

Yes it was the battle of the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in this year’s draft, but all Giants fans and players wanted to see was the debut of Saquon Barkley, the Giants No. 1 pick (No. 2 overall) and anointed savior of a team that finished a forgettable 3-13 in 2017.

New head coach Pat Shurmur did not disappoint…he went to Barkley early and the former Penn State star delivered.

The Giants were backed up on their own 13-yard line when Barkley took a handoff from Eli Manning, took a step forward but found the middle clogged, broke to his right and scampered 39 yards – longer than all but two of the team’s 394 rushing attempts in the 2017 season.

The big beginning didn’t translate to a Giants victory – they lost to the Browns, 20-10 – but the postgame buzz in the Giants’ locker room centered on Barkley, who ran for a game-high 43 yards on five carries.

“I loved his first run,” Shurmur said. “If only they all could be like that. You could see, it wasn’t too big for him. He’s probably played before bigger crowds at Penn State. It really wasn’t too big for him, and I think he took the next step in his progress to get ready for the season.”

“That was pretty cool,” said right tackle Ereck Flowers. “I didn’t really notice what he did until I watched the replay. He has really good vision. It was a good cutback. Some running backs will keep pushing forward. Knowing he can break free like that at any time is great. It makes your job easier.”

Eli Manning served as the killjoy in the post game locker room.

“It’s just a run,” Manning said. “Let’s not go berserk yet. It was a good run. The offensive line blocked things well, he had a good cutback. It was a good play.” Manning also said it was, “a nice run to get things started. Hopefully more to come.”

Barkley was asked about his run.

“You’re just so locked in the moment and you’re just living in the moment that you really don’t even notice what’s going on in your head,” Barkley said. “But the offensive line did a great job with blocking up front, creating space. Evan (Engram) made an unbelievable block there, and I was able to create some space and get a big gain.”

Barkley was asked how satisfying it was to make such a memorable first impression.

“I think it was more satisfying to me just because of the scenario,” he said. “We were backed up tight, to be able to get us out running from, I think we were on the (13)-yard line, and then to break out a 40-yard run really (helped) our offense out, and we had a great drive. We just got to find a way to finish it. It was more exciting in that it was helping the team out, we were getting a drive started, starting off quick, more than making a first impression.”

The Giants concluded the drive with Aldrick Rosas’ 42-yard field goal.

Barkley said he did not feel nervous before the game. It said that was unusual.

“It was kind of weird,” Barkley said. “I was talking to a lot of guys there. For some reason I didn’t get nervous, I didn’t really get anxious. It was kind of a weird feeling. They said it would probably hit me when the national anthem goes off, but I kind of just got locked in so quick, I just have been preparing for this moment for my whole life and being able to play in the NFL, and I didn’t want any other thing to ruin it. If I had broken a long run, no, I just wanted to go out there and enjoy, and have fun, and take advantage of every rep and every opportunity I got.
“I expected to be nervous because since high school on, I was nervous in high school – not nervous, I think anxious is the word, because nervous is kind of like you’re scared. I just needed that first hit, I was just so ready for that moment, it was kind of weird. One of the coaches told me that he said it’s going to get worse, don’t worry, so definitely preparing for that. Just excited to live my life and live the dream I planned.”

Barkley was asked What he is looking forward to in order to get better.

“Learning throughout the whole game, even though I wasn’t in the second, third, or fourth quarter, and I split reps with Jonathan Stewart in the beginning and learn from his reps, learn from Robert Martin who played amazing, and Simmons who played amazing, learn from Wayne Gallman, and continue to grow as a player.”