Giants Country

How Lions Shut Down Giants' Running Game

The Detroit Lions held Saquon Barkley to an average of 1.5 yards per carry and the Giants running game to 3.4 yards per attempt.

Patricia Traina

How Lions Shut Down Giants' Running Game
How Lions Shut Down Giants' Running Game /
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East Rutherford, N.J. - Calling Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions a bad day at the office for running back Saquon Barkley would probably be an understatement.

Barkley, who last week put up 152 yards on the ground against the Texans, his fourth-highest career rushing total, only managed to post 22 this week on 15 carries (1.5 average) against a stingy Detroit Lions defense, his fifth-worst rushing performance in his career.

And as has been mostly the case this season, no Saquon, no win for the Giants offense.

“We knew he was a key, we could not let him get going, and we did that,” said Lions head coach Dan Campbell. “That was the main focus of our defense this week, and they performed it perfectly.”

All game long, the Lions defensive front beat the Giants in the pit, and when they didn’t get it done up front, they were quick to close in on Barkley in space and stop him from churning his legs to push the pile. Detroit dropped Barkley, whose longest run of the day went for four yards, for zero or negative yardage on five of his carries.

Detroit, who came into this week's game with a run defense that ranked 30th in yards per attempt, 31st in total yards allowed, and 32 in defensive EPA against the run, also took away the outside zone runs that Barkley has frequently exploited this year. 

Although Detroit didn't load the box often, they did stop the Giants blockers from getting to the second level which in turn allowed the back seven to flow toward Barkley.  

By removing Barkley from the equation, the Lions dared the Giants to beat them through the air.

Although quarterback Daniel Jones threw for 341 yards (his first 300-yard passing performance since 2021 when he threw for a career-high 402 yards in a win against the Saints) and completed 61.3 percent of his pass attempts, the Giants only averaged 7.75 yards per pass attempt against a Lions defensive secondary that had had its share of struggles coming into this week’ game.

“I don’t think it changes,” Barkley said when asked if the Giants offense changes when they can’t run the ball. “I think that’s for any team in the league. If you’re not running the ball well, you’re going to pass the ball. I guess that’s just the answer there.

“If the run game is not going, you’re kind of tied with one hand behind your back, you’ve got to pass the ball, so that’s why it’s important to get this run game back on track and the best way to do that is moving on and getting ready for Thursday.”

Barkley said he was trying to take what was there to be taken, which, unfortunately for the Giants, wasn’t much. “I’ve got to give credit to all those boys over there and the (Lions) D-Coordinator,” Barkley said. “They did a really good job today.”

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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