Matt Breida News

A favorite of coach Brian Daboll's from their time together in Buffalo, Breida is returning to New York after rushing 54 times for 220 yards and one touchdown behind Saquon Barkley last season. He would need an injury ahead of him to have any fantasy value.

Breida ended up recording the only score of the night for the Giants on an eight-yard run just past the halfway point of the third quarter, and his first-half reception was also noteworthy as he worked himself open to save a play on which Daniel Jones had to scramble for an extended period. Breida played his first season in New York on a one-year contract, and after doing a serviceable job as a complementary option with a 54-220-1 line on the ground and a 20-118 tally through the air, it's conceivable he could find himself back in New York in 2023.

With Saquon Barkley inactive in a relatively meaningless game for the Giants, Breida split the backfield workload with Gary Brightwell but didn't do much with his share of the touches. Breida and Barkley are both free agents in the offseason, but the latter is a top priority to re-sign while Breida may not be in the Giants' plans for 2023. Over 17 games this season, the 27-year-old managed only 220 yards and a TD on the ground and 118 yards through the air on 20 catches.

Barkley is sitting out the regular-season finale simply for preservation purposes, as the Giants are locked into as the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoff regardless of the outcome of their game or any of the NFL's other contests Sunday. Considering that Gary Brightwell -- who has mainly been a special-teams contributor this season -- is the Giants' only other available running back, Breida looks as though he could be primed for his biggest role of the season. Breida fared well in garbage time of last week's commanding win over the Colts with nine carries for 59 yards and one reception for eight yards on 12 snaps, but even though he'll likely be in store for an increased touch count, expect his efficiency to take a major hit. Not only will be facing off against a tough Eagles defense that won't be resting key players, but Breida will also be playing alongside a third-string quarterback (Davis Webb) and a makeshift offensive line missing star offensive tackle Andrew Thomas, who joins Barkley as a healthy inactive.

Breida did most of his work in garbage time, tallying 48 rushing yards on six fourth-quarter carries after New York had put the game well out of reach. The veteran back ripped off consecutive runs of 16 and 18 yards, respectively, for the bulk of his production, and he finished with one yard more than starter Saquon Barkley. Breida's 67 total yards was easily a season high, and he could see increased opportunity again next Sunday against Philadelphia if the Giants opt to rest (or reduce the workload of) their starters. New York clinched a playoff berth with the win over the Colts and has nothing to gain except momentum in the regular-season finale.

Neither Breida nor Gary Brightwell (one carry for a loss of one yard) saw much action in the critical contest for New York. Breida did get 11 offensive snaps to Brightwell's one, so the former should remain the primary backup to bell-cow back Saquon Barkley while all three ball carriers are healthy.