The New York Giants are one win away from clinching a playoff berth, and no one appreciates the team's journey more than Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley, who recently joined the Giants Huddle podcast to offer a look into his NFL career both on and off the field.

Barkley first spoke about accomplishing a feat that only 31 others attain each year – being named their franchise's Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee. The honor is a testament to Barkley's personal relationship with Covenant House and the way he's leveraged his own experiences to benefit the greater community.

"I'm very blessed," Barkley said. "I've accomplished a lot in my career before. It's been my dream (to be nominated), and I feel like God blessed me. … I want to use that blessing to try to have an impact on other people's lives."

Barkley hosts homeless youth from Covenant House after each home game, and he hopes to be a positive influence on their trajectory.

"The main message is always going to be the same. It's never going to change," he said. "All you have to do is have the right mindset, surround yourself with the right people and believe."

Barkley's engagements are reflective of his football accomplishments, too. Named to the Pro Bowl his rookie year, Saquon recently earned the accolade for a second time after enduring injuries and setbacks since his first appearance. He spoke with a degree of humility, crediting family members, coaches and teammates in his success.

"At the end of the day, all that matters is that I believed in myself and (I had) the belief of the people that helped me to this point," he said. "I'm just happy for them, thankful to them, and (happy) to show my gratitude to them."

Barkley shared that he would be remiss to discuss his NFL tenure in the absence of hardship.

"I will say just the adversity that I've had to face in my career – the injuries that I've had to face in my career – all that stuff that I had to fall back on all helped me to get back to this moment where I'm at now."

The Giants face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in their final home game of the season, and Barkley hopes to advance the run game's "identity" that developed soundly the last two weeks in Washington and Minnesota.

"The reason why it's getting back, credit to the coaches first, but also to the guys up front – me trusting them and seeing the hole and hitting it."

He'll channel his consistent mindset when he next takes the field and joked that the home fans need to bring the energy on New Year's Day: "Keep the party rolling."

The "Giants Huddle" podcast is available on Giants.com, Giants Mobile app, GiantsTV Streaming App, Giants YouTube Channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and iHeartRadio.

For more information visit Giants.com/podcasts.