Packers Morning Buzz: Saquon Barkley no longer making big plays for Giants

Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers from around the web and here at PackersNews.com.

We'll start with a look at the perfect cure for what's ailing the Packers: the 2-9 New York Giants. Green Bay's opponent next Sunday at MetLife Stadium fell 19-14 to the mediocre Bears on Sunday, their seventh straight loss. Even worse, star running back Saquon Barkley is struggling, writes Ralph Vacchiano of SNY:

Saquon Barkley put a ridiculous spin move on Bears cornerback Prince Amukamara in the second quarter, and then nearly spun out of another tackle on the same play. It was a violent move that sure seemed to prove he wasn't still bothered by his ankle injury.

So if that's not it: What in the world is wrong with Saquon Barkley?

That question has to be asked after he had another low-impact performance in the Giants' ugly, 19-14 loss in Chicago. He gained just 59 yards on 17 carries - 22 of which came on one fourth-quarter run. Coupled with his disaster against the Jets (13 carries, one yard) he now has just 60 rushing yards on 30 carries in the last two games. ...

Yes, the offensive line is not helping. He is taking a pounding, and usually taking it before he gets to the line of scrimmage. But as a rookie, Barkley found a way to either sidestep those hits or to bounce off of them and turn a broken play into a positive one instead. This season, though - at least since he sprained his ankle in Week 3 - the big plays that made him a superstar seem to be gone.

You can read the entire story here:

The Giants are not only awful, but they could be missing two of their key players:

The esteemed Peter King thinks the 49ers can run the table after their 37-8 rout of the Packers:

In the NFL, it’s always smart to have recency bias. I don’t know how you watch an Aaron Rodgers-led team convert 0 of 13 third downs and not think San Francisco is capable of running the table, all the way to the Super Bowl. You see the impact George Kittle had (six catches, 129 yards), playing with a chipped bone in his ankle, and you see the defensive depth. This is a scary team.

You can find King's entire column here:

Michael Silver of NFL.com writes about what 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo learned from Aaron Rodgers:

The Niners' 37-8 victory in front of 71,500 fans at Levi's Stadium left the indelible impression that the gap between San Francisco and Green Bay is massive. One key distinction: While the 49ers' menacing front seven swallowed up Aaron Rodgers, limiting the Pack's future first-ballot Hall of Famer to 104 passing yards while sacking him five times and harassing him on many of his 33 attempts, Garoppolo sliced up the Packers' secondary like a knife through, well, spreadable cheese. ...

After the quarterback emphatically refused to take any credit for his touchdown pass to Kittle, I tried to get him to concede that he'd displayed an aptitude for throwing on the run on several key plays. Finally, Garoppolo flashed a guilty smile.

"Throwing on the run -- I got it from Rodgers, man," he said. "I love watching that guy."

On this night, Rodgers had done plenty of running; mostly, while attempting to escape from the Niners' relentless pass rush, not always in successful fashion.

"I've experienced that," Garoppolo said. "Trust me, I know what he was feeling."

You can read Silver's entire story here:

The 49ers beat the Packers every which way, writes Tom Oates of the Wisconsin State Journal:

Davante Adams tweeted his thoughts on being penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct:

49ers rookie pass rusher Nick Bosa had his way with the Packers' offensive line:

Former Packers guard T.J. Lang is sold on the 49ers:

The Packers aren't the only NFC contender dealing with offensive line injuries:

And finally:

Contact Stu Courtney at (920) 431-8377 or scourtney@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stucourt