Giants Run Defense A Significant Factor in Team's Five-Game Slide

So what are the coaches going to do to fix it?

Sep 22, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Jerome Ford (34) runs between New York Giants defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches (93) and linebacker Isaiah Simmons (19) during the second half at Huntington Bank Field. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

For what seemed like the umpteenth time this season, the Giants' run defense, ranked 29th overall (147.1 yards per game) and 32nd per rushing play (5.27 yards per attempt), was gouged by the opponent.

This week, it was the Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard, who was inflicting damage on the Giants' run defense. 

Hubbard ran for 153 yards on 28 carries, a robust 5.5 yards per carry average. He also had the Panthers’ three longest plays from scrimmage, including two that went for 26 yards a piece off the edges and one for 25 yards between the tackles.  

The Giants run defense has allowed 120+ yards rushing in its last five games, all losses. Per Pro Football Focus, they have 47 missed tackles against the run on the season, 27 of those coming in that five-game losing streak.

“It's a few plays each game where they break a long one, and there's no recurring theme,” Daboll said when asked about the issues.

“Some games it's open field tackling, some games it's gap control. Certainly, something that, again, you get a couple of big plays in the running game, two or three, that's really going to up everything.”

So how do they fix what’s been an ongoing problem?

“What we need to do is eliminate some of these explosives, continue to win the line of scrimmage, knock back, gap control, then tackling,” Daboll said.

Up front, the Giants have Dexter Lawrence and Rakeem Nunez-Roches as their two most established players and a host of younger guys they rotate into the defensive front. 

At this point, though, the Cavalry isn’t coming in to help shore up the defensive front’s run issues, which one might argue began when the team traded away Leonard Williams and then failed to retain A’Shawn Robinson in free agency.

Instead, the Giants, who also traded away Jordan Phillips in the summer, decided to roll with youth in D.J. Davidson and Jordon Riley. But these days, Riley has become an afterthought who’s been glued to the bench after losing snaps to six-year veteran Armon Watts.

And to no one’s surprise, the minute Lawrence, clearly the team’s best run defender, comes off the field for a breather, opponents usually go right at his replacement, often with success.

With the roster being set for the rest of the year–the cavalry isn’t coming until next spring–it’s up to the coaches to work with what they have to fix what ails the run defense.

“There's certainly things that are good. Then there's things that aren't up to standard,” Daboll said. “We got to make sure we identify those, which we try to do every week. When you have a little bit more time on a bye week, you dig in a little bit more and make sure that.

“Again, it could be a missed tackle. It could be a wrong fit. Whatever it may be. Our coaches do a good job of bringing that to the attention of the guys. They're going to try to improve it. That's the mindset we'll have.”

Brian Daboll Remains Mum on Daniel Jones's Status. dark. Next. Daboll Doublesdown on Daniel Jones

---

New York Giants On SI on Social Media

• Follow and like us on Facebook.
• Submit your questions for our mailbag.
• Follow on Instagram.
• Check out the Giants Country YouTube Channel.