The New York Giants were shellacked in Week 1 of the regular season by the Dallas Cowboys, 35-17.

The most significant of the Giants’ many problems came on the defensive side of the ball, where they failed to generate pressure, couldn’t cover anything and lacked any form of solid scheme or play-calling.

However, there was an equally concerning issue playing out on the offensive side of the ball as it related to the use of running back Saquon Barkley.

While the 2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year was able to eclipse 100 yards rushing and 125 yards from scrimmage, he amassed just 11 carries and four receptions — 15 touches in total.

Compounding that, Barkley saw just one touch in the second quarter — before the game had gotten completely out of hand — and that included giving way to fullback Eli Penny on a key 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1 deep in Cowboys territory.

On those plays, Penny was stopped short of the line to gain and then a roll-out was called for quarterback Eli Manning, who watched helplessly as Sterling Shepard was tackled in the end zone before taking a big helmet-to-helmet hit and losing a fumble.

A nearly identical scenario played out in the second half, and again, no Barkley.

After the game, head coach Pat Shurmur defended his playcalling, suggesting he had no issue with Barkley’s limited use and that the team simply didn’t have any plays in the playbook for him at that point.

Pat Shurmur was fine with the way Saquon Barkley was used. He said the reason for one touch in the second quarter was a lack of plays. https://t.co/zJ4zRNUYeB — Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) September 8, 2019

Red flags abound!

The fact that the Giants have arguably the league’s most explosive offensive talent and failed to use him in the exact situations he’s known to excel is maddening. The reality is, Shurmur outthought himself. He got too cute and repeatedly made the same error much to the dismay of his own team.

None of Shurmur’s players will complain publicly — most certainly not Barkley — but given the expectation of upward of 400 touches for the superstar running back, limiting him to just 15, and none in key situations, is eye-opening.

Shurmur’s seat isn’t hot yet, but coupled with his repeated attempts to challenge unchallengeable plays while completely ignoring other instances in which he should have thrown the red flag, the cushion has to be warming a bit.

No matter how Shurmur and the Giants try to spin it, the misuse of Barkley helped facilitate some of the offensive issues and contributed to their less-than-stellar showing.