Upon their arrival in Pittsburgh on Sunday, the Giants' running game had been gaining a head of steam. A small head, mind you, but they were on a streak where they had gained over 100 yards on the ground for three consecutive games.
That all ended in their 24-14 loss to the surging Steelers at Heinz Field, a game in which the Giants gained just 56 yards rushing and 234 total yards, their second-lowest output of the season. Granted, they only rushed the ball 14 times, but the narrative is that their running game was ineffective once again.
They did gain 4.0 yards per attempt on the plays they decided to dial up a run, with rookie Paul Perkins gaining 38 yards on seven carries with a long of 18. Their running game works if they choose to commit to it. The issue is, they haven't chosen to make it a focal point of the offensive attack on a consistent basis.
The Giants ran only 55 plays on Sunday, which is unusually low for an NFL offense. They threw 39 times, completing 24. None of those targets went to WR Victor Cruz, who for some reason was either left off the field in favor of rookie Roger Lewis, or just completely ignored by QB Eli Manning.
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