The Saquon Barkley loss looks worse by the week for the New York Giants. Tyrone Tracy Jr. did an admirable job of salvaging the run game the best he could as a rookie, but early returns in 2025 suggest leaning on the ground game is a cautionary tale.
Through two games, Big Blue has totaled just 158 rushing yards, with Russell Wilson leading the team with 67. It’s embarrassing, and fans deserve better. They can’t rely on Wilson to throw them out of every contest with 400-plus yards. The G-Men need more than 3.6 yards per carry. It’s painfully obvious: they can’t get anything going on the ground.
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan agrees, calling New York’s bottom-five rushing attack one of the biggest early-season surprises — and very real. They’ll need to somehow reverse that trend heading into a primetime matchup at home in Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs... if they can.
Giants’ offensive line problems are making the run game unwatchable
Kansas City ranks middle of the pack in run defense, allowing 106 yards per game through two weeks. The unit is well-coached by a familiar face in Steve Spagnuolo. The G-Men can expect nothing to come easy, and that makes their lives significantly harder come Sunday night.
The issue isn’t necessarily the running backs. It’s the offensive line, specifically the interior, that doesn’t even give them a chance to get out of the backfield. Raanan highlighted this exact concern in his piece for ESPN:
"There was a belief based on the second half of last season that it would at least be a better run-blocking unit," Raanan wrote. "But the Giants have problems on the interior of their offensive line, a main reason they are averaging a paltry 79.0 yards on the ground. They get minimal push. That seems unlikely to magically change, and the running game is already searching for answers."
That’s not just speculation. It passes the eye test. Watching this team try to run the football borders on cruel and unusual punishment.
For the number folks out there, Pro Football Focus paints an ugly picture:
Player | PFF run block grade |
|---|---|
LT James Hudson | 49.9 |
LG Jon Runyan | 50.7 |
OC John Michael Schmitz Jr. | 42.1 |
RG Greg Van Roten | 48.4 |
RT Jermaine Eluemunor | 55.3 |
It’d be tough for any back to succeed behind this line (including Barkley), let alone a fourth-round rookie in Cam Skattebo or a second-year, fifth-rounder in Tracy Jr. In fact, Raanan also noted that Skatt essentially replaced Tracy Jr. as the primary ball carrier after just one week.
Things were supposed to be better this year. But it’s safe to say, even through just two games, that nothing is going to plan.
The Giants need a functioning run game like a fish needs water. They need to be firing on all cylinders if they want any chance at upsetting the Chiefs on Sunday night. The schedule has done them no favors so far, but they haven’t exactly helped themselves, either. Things could change with Andrew Thomas potentially coming back, but he won't fix everything.
Here’s to hoping the rushing attack finally figures it out in Week 3. They desperately need it.