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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Giants made a big bet the day they passed on Sam Darnold and selected Saquon Barkley in the draft. They weren't just betting that Eli Manning had "elite" years left in him. They were betting that Barkley was good enough to push the Giants back over the top.

Boy, they better be right.

It's not so much that the young quarterbacks at the top of the draft that the Giants just couldn't fall in love with are showing signs of star potential (though they are). It's more that the Giants clearly need a healthy and impressive Barkley this season if their plan is going to succeed. Even if Manning is "elite" again, they can't expect their quarterback, at age 37, to carry a one-dimensional team the way he did in 2011.

They need a running game if they really want to be a Super Bowl contender. And it's starting to look like without Barkley that running game won't exist.

To say the Giants' running game has been atrocious without Barkley is really underselling it. Even with Barkley, it's been pretty bad since his preseason-opening, 39-yard run. Take out that signature moment and the Giants are averaging just 3.76 yards per carry this preseason. Behind the first team offensive line, it's even worse. Giants running backs have gained just 23 yards on 23 runs.

And despite all the focus on the aging and suddenly unproductive Jonathan Stewart, that's really been an equal-opportunity disaster. Barkley, remember, had four yards on four carries after his dazzling debut dash. Yes, the 31-year-old Stewart has been horrible, with 10 carries for minus-5 yards. But even Wayne Gallman, suddenly everybody's favorite, hasn't been good either. Sure, he's got 54 yards on 19 carries this preseason. But that's still only 2.8 yards per carry.

And with the starters, Gallman has rushed 10 times for 23 yards for an average that dips to 2.3.

That's all bad. So what's the solution? The Giants' offensive line is better, but it's still not good, particularly on the right side where guard Patrick Omameh is struggling and tackle Ereck Flowers is still Ereck Flowers. They will be better than they were last season (they hope) but that issue isn't going to fix itself overnight.

Enter Barkley, whenever his balky hamstring his healthy. The Giants think he can be spectacular. They think he can be Ezekiel Elliott and Todd Gurley rolled into one. They are convinced he can be so dynamic and dangerous that defenses won't be able to sit back and focus on Odell Beckham, or just send overwhelming pressure at Manning, and they won't be able to disrespect the Giants' play-action game.

They certainly need him to be all of that if they're going to have any chance at all.

Not that Giants coach Pat Shurmur is putting all of that on Barkley, or blaming the current state of his rush on anyone specifically. "It's a team thing when you run the ball well," Shurmur said on Friday night. "And when you don't run the ball well, it's also a team thing."

Fair enough, but they're a better running team with a better running back. This isn't the Cowboys' offensive line of two years ago that's just going to mow defenses over and open enormous holes. They'll need someone who dart through small holes, make defenders miss in space, and use moves, quickness and speed to make something out of nothing.

That's Barkley. Gallman can do that, but he's not really in Barkley's class in those categories. And Stewart, clearly at the end of his career, isn't that kind of running back at all. He's a tough, up-the-middle back who needs holes to open in front of him - holes that so far this preseason just haven't been there and aren't likely to be all season long.

Barkley can do more with less. At least that's the hope. And that's the gamble. The Giants passed on Darnold (and Josh Allen and Josh Rosen) because they decided that the possibility that they'd be stuck in Quarterback Hell in 2020 after Manning's contract expires was less important than the chance they could make one more Super Bowl run with Manning in the meantime. The risk, they felt, was worth the potential for immediate reward.

But they payoff has to come quickly because Manning doesn't have any more time to waste. They need Barkley in the lineup on Opening Day and they need him to be everything they've dreamed he could be, right from the very beginning. That may be a big burden for the rookie, but it's clear from this preseason that there's no help coming from anywhere else in the Giants' struggling running game.

Barkley will help in the passing game too, and it's certainly possible the passing game and a revived defense will be enough to carry the Giants. But it's much more likely they'll need an effective running game to be a contender.

And unfortunately for Barkley, that sure looks like it'll all be on him.

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