The giants did the unthinkable without Saquon Barkley

Without Saquon Barkley, this would not have been thought possible: the Giants have played four consecutive games over 100 yards. The last two games this has been accomplished without Devonta Freeman with an ankle injury. The most productive ground game of the season was the 166-yard run against Washington, with Wayne Gallman and Alfred Morris.

“Their running game has become – losing a guy like Saquon Barkley, it’s hard to replace him with one person,” said Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. “So they introduced a lot more zone reading concepts. ”

Credit Jason Garrett, the Giants’ offensive coordinator, and Marc Colombo, the offensive line coach, for that. Much of the attack was built around Barkley’s immense skill set and that blueprint was destroyed in week 2. Freeman was signed, Gallman dusted off and Morris, 32, was cast for the training team.

The Giants are only 21st in the league in rushing with 106 yards per game, but the rise in the last four games is immense: averaging 139.8 yards.

“They changed their racing game a bit,” said Schwartz. “It’s easy to just give Saquon Barkley the ball deep and let him pick his hole, but you have to make lanes and they did a good job making some lanes. ”