If one had just looked at the rushing stats the Giants put up against the Los Angeles Chargers, it would have been hard to believe they would have lost given how dominant the ground game was. It's challenging to isolate any positives from a loss against a winless team from the west coast. However, for the first time all season the Giants running attack looked dominant. Wayne Gallman and Orleans Darkwa looked better last Sunday than Paul Perkins has all year. Let's take a look at the tape.

Rushing Attack Review

Q1 11:11

Orleans Darkwa exhibits great patience and vision on this run. Instead of following John Jerry's lead, he cuts it back between Brett Jones and Justin Pugh to pick yards.

Q1 3:05

The Giants opened up a huge hole for Orleans Darkwa, even Paul Perkins would have found this gap between the guard and tackle. The Giants mixed up their run blocking last Sunday, D.J. Fluker did an excellent job clearing his man to allow Darkwa to sprint through the hole.

Q1 2:24

This TD run by Darkwa was 98% Darkwa and 2% Sterling Sheppard (even a Giants wide receiver is getting some kudos for blocking!). Watch Sheppard, he gets a piece of Desmond King, then peels off to get a block on Jahleel Addae. It's clear Darkwa understands the run blocking design. Instead of bouncing the run to the outside, he cuts it off of Sheppard's block for a touchdown.

Q2 12:50

Wayne Gallman entered the NFL with a reputation as a one-cut, north-south running back. Against the Chargers last Sunday, those attributes were on display. He does a great job of putting is foot in the ground to draw in Casey Hayward, before bouncing the run off tackle. Great instincts and vision were on display with this run.

Q2 12:18

Similar to the previous play, Gallman does an excellent job of sucking in the defenders right before bouncing the run to the outside.

Q4 15:00

Gallman displayed great vision and decisiveness all game. This just another example, he sees an unblocked defensive back crashing the hole and kicks the run off tackle for a big gain.

Gallman also caught all five targets thrown his way. For the first time since the Giants had Ahmad Bradshaw in the backfield, the Giants may have a complete three-down back to utilize. The season is lost, but the Giants can help their 2018 team by continuing to develop Gallman.

Last, But Not Least...

Q4 0:49

The 4th down interception Eli was forced to throw sums up the McAdoo offense well. On 4th and 10, three pass catcher are running five yard drag routes. Brutal.



