Saquon Barkley’s rookie season was a testament to all the reasons — speed, make-you-miss moves, soft hands — he is a big-play machine for the Giants.

Barkley’s second season is a reminder of one of the few scouting knocks attached to his name, long overshadowed by his premature Hall of Fame ticket: Too many carries for zero or negative yards.

If Barkley is healthy — and the ridiculous spin to escape a tackle for loss Sunday suggests that he is — then maybe this prolonged lull is just a part of his all-or-nothing running style. He finished with 17 carries for 59 yards (including a long of 22 on his last run) in a loss to the Bears, and he hasn’t topped 72 rushing yards in five games since returning from a three-game absence due to a high ankle sprain.

“Sometimes, you have to talk to yourself,” Barkley said, “especially with the way the season is going for me.”

Three of Barkley’s carries Sunday resulted in losses of 4 yards or more and three others went for no gain or 1 yard. Over a three game-span, including losses to the Cowboys and Jets, he now has 23 rushes for 1 yard or less and just 88 total yards on 44 carries.

Against the Bears, the Giants tried for home runs, like a fake handoff to fullback Eli Penny with a toss to Barkley on a third-and-1. He was immediately swarmed under by two unfooled defenders.

“When you are trying to establish the running game against a defense that is pretty much known for the way they pass rush, you have to try to maximize the yards you get on each run,” coach Pat Shurmur said. “It all comes back to — if you clip them all out and watch them like we do — it’s one thing here and one thing there.”

Barkley had eight carries for 49 yards when Daniel Jones was in the shotgun and nine for 10 with the quarterback under center, according to NFL NextGenStats. The offensive line, which showed early-season promise, has had the same five starters (four veterans) intact for all but one game (Jets).

“I don’t think I see regression,” Shurmur said. “We did start out as a unit pretty well together. We’ve had some injuries the last couple weeks that set things back a little bit. They are fighting as a group.”

The analytics tracker also lists Barkley’s season average at 2.98 seconds per carry spent behind the line of scrimmage, which is the fifth-most time among NFL running backs and likely to lead to lost yards as he waits for lanes to open.

“When you look at the first- and second-down numbers, we did a good job running the ball, so I think that’s encouraging,” Jones said. “All the areas of the game complement each other. If we can throw the ball better, that’s going to open up opportunities for him. I can certainly do a better job giving him the best chance to do what he can do.”

Barkley actually has rushed for 75 yards or less in 14 of his 24 career games, but he found a way to make big plays with a rookie-running-back record 88 receptions.

In his second season, he has been less of a factor in the passing game as Jones is slower to settle for a check-down completion than predecessor Eli Manning. Barkley has lost a few third-down snaps to Wayne Gallman because of struggles in pass protection.

But Barkley also had an “uncharacteristic” brain lapse when he dropped a swing pass after slipping behind Bears linebacker Roquan Smith.

“He would’ve been in position there to make the safety miss for a big gain, maybe a touchdown,” Shurmur said. “Those are the things that are rare, but when they happen it’s also magnified because it was a third down. I thought he did have an impact on the game beyond that.”

The Giants (2-9) have no margin for Barkley error, especially against top talent like the Bears.

“Always up for that challenge,” Barkley said. “In my opinion, top defense in the league. You just point out the players that they have.”

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