Opposing running backs must be salivating for the chance to face the Giants' run defense.
There are lots of holes.
The unit was set on fire by Chuba Hubbard during the Giants' 20-17 loss to the Panthers on Sunday at Allianz Arena in Munich. He had a career-high 153 rushing yards on 28 carries (5.5 yards per carry), including a touchdown.
The Giants entered the bye week with the NFL's worst record this season, giving up 5.3 yards per carry. They have given up 1,471 total rushing yards, third-most in the league.
“It's just a few plays each game that break up a long game, and there's no recurring theme,” head coach Brian Daboll said Monday. “Yesterday they had two edge plays against us, and two different things happened on each of the broken plays. Some were for open field tackles, others were for gap control. There are games. Yeah, and again, when you get two or three big plays in the running game, it makes all the difference.
“So what we have to do is take out some of these explosives, keep winning at the line of scrimmage, knock them back, do gap control and then tackle them. Again, Nothing concrete… It changes a little bit every week and it’s something we need to keep working on and getting better at.”
Lately, opponents have been attacking the Giants' edges, running away from Dexter Lawrence in the middle and outside of the tackles.
Kayvon Thibodeau, who has missed the last five games with a wrist injury, will be absent. Azeez Ojulari is an outside linebacker and is not a strong run stopper.
According to Next Gen Stats, of Hubbard's seven runs that gained at least five yards, five were off tackles.
Thibodeau could return after a bye, but the damage he did to his season has already been done.
Lawrence said after the match, “We just have to do better on the edge.” “With crack toss, [that] It was [the] main game [they were] Gaining yards is really the only play. I have to do a better job of setting edges and replacing cracks. ”
The Giants' tackling woes compounded their struggles on the edge.
According to Next Gen Stats, Hubbard forced nine missed tackles Sunday and also tied a career high with 71 more rushing yards than expected.
“Perimeter runs are a little bit tough to fit, especially when we get outside,” defensive end Brian Burns said. “It's a little tough to match at the end in terms of how the defensive backs drop and rotate. … We've got to be a little more aware of that and work on it better.”
