Week 6 sees the New Orleans Saints traveling north to take on the New York Giants on Sunday. It's the first road game since Week 2 for the Saints, who come in at 1-4 after three straight home losses. The Giants counter with a 3-1-1 mark after last week's laughable 27-27 tie at Washington. All three of New York's wins have come at home.
New Orleans leaned on their offense through the first few games until a Week 5 debacle against the Vikings. However, that offensive reliance was on Tyler Shough and the passing attack. The complete absence of a running game has handcuffed the attack. Can the Saints finally revive their running game against the Giants? Let's take a look at that aspect of Sunday's matchup here.
New York Giants run defense
- 127.6 yards per game (24th)
- 5.2 per carry (30th)
- 5 touchdowns (14th)
- 15 tackles for loss
New York has allowed at least 120 yards on the ground in three games, including 163 to the Rams in Week 2 and 202 to Washington last Sunday. In their last four games, six different players have run for over 60 yards against the Giants. When John Harbaugh took over as head coach, he hired Dennard Wilson as defensive coordinator. Wilson changed the team's scheme from a base 4-3 to a base 3-4 alignment. Two new linebackers were also added this offseason and have been crucial to Wilson's defense.
Rookie fifth overall pick Arvell Reese has had an impressive start to his career. Reese has 43 stops to lead the Giants, including a team-best 4 for loss. Joining Reese in the middle is veteran Tremaine Edmunds, who has 3 stops for loss among his 41 tackles. Reese and Edmunds are both good athletes that make plays sideline-to-sideline. Each also possess good physicality, but can be prone to misreads.
Brian Burns, one of the league's best all-around edge rushers, is on injured reserve. This has created another opportunity for Kayvon Thibodeaux, who was aggressively shopped by the Giants for a potential trade this offseason. Thibodeaux, the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, has always struggled as a run defender. On the other edge, 2025 third overall choice Abdul Carter is only slightly better against the run.
The Giants have a big and physical defensive front that not only clog gaps and tie up blockers to free up Reese and Edmunds, but also get good penetration to snuff out plays. Veterans D.J. Reeder (13 tackles) and Shelby Harris (10) are the leading tacklers among the down linemen. Even with Chauncey Golston and Roy Robertson-Harris on injured reserve, there is a solid rotation here with veteran Jihad Ward and 2025 second round choice Darius Alexander.
Giants safeties Tyler Nubin and Jevon Holland are ballhawks in coverage, but also very effective against the run. Either can play well in the tackle box, giving New York some flexibility in their defensive schemes. Corners Deonte Banks, Greg Newsome, Dru Phillips, and Colton Hood are each physical players. However, all four are guilty of poor angles if a runner gets to the edge or the second level.
New Orleans Saints running game
- 81.8 yards per game (29th)
- 3.5 per carry (29th)
- 5 touchdowns (11th)
New Orleans has been downright crippled offensively by a nonexistent running game. Just three teams have managed fewer yards on the ground or a lower average per attempt than the Saints. Having top back Travis Etienne (hamstring) on injured reserve hasn't helped, but this running game was putrid even before Etienne went down in Week 3. Neither Alvin Kamara or Kendre Miller have done anything as runners or receivers, allowing opponents to key all their efforts on the passing game and pressuring Tyler Shough. The Saints have fewer than 65 rushing yards in three of five outings. While the backs and play-calling shoulder partial blame, awful performances from the offensive line are the major part of the problem.
Asim Richards has not played well at left tackle in place of the injured Kelvin Banks Jr. (ankle). Left guard David Edwards has yet to show why he was a highly paid free agent target. Center Erik McCoy no longer looks like the Pro Bowl level player he once was. Right tackle Taliese Fuaga has devolved badly from an impressive rookie just two years ago. Right guard Cesar Ruiz may be the team's most consistent run blocker, but that says more about the abysmal results of the entire unit than the way Ruiz has played.
Etienne has missed two and a half games, but still leads the Saints with only 128 yards on the ground. Kamara has 86 rushing yards and a lowly 3.1 per carry, with Miller picking up 83 rushing yards with a 2.9 average. Miller is the better inside runner of the two, but the key is getting either off tackle while opening up cutback lanes. The Saints have failed miserably to do either. CJ Donaldson, an undrafted rookie, has been the option in some short yardage situations. Donaldson has also been used as a fullback at times, with tight end Oscar Delp used as an extra motion blocker on bigger packages.
Inability to provide any rushing threat has allowed defenses to blitz Shough constantly. Kamara and Miller still have the ability to be adequate runners, but the line has to give them creases to do so. At this point in the year the personnel won't change. Therefore, it's on Kellen Moore to adjust blocking schemes, alignments, and play-calling to give this running game some life.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Anemic Saints run game matches up vs. vulnerable Giants run defense