The New York Giants have started the 2012 NFL season off hot and they now sit comfortably — and solely — atop the NFC East division with a 4-2 record. If their Week 6 victory over the San Francisco 49ers is any indication, there should be more success on the horizon for New York as long as they can continue to shut down the run.
The 49ers came into Sunday’s game toting one of the NFL’s best rushing attacks. The Giants, meanwhile, had been underwhelming defensively against the run, surrendering big performances to the Dallas Cowboys’ DeMarco Murray, the Philadelphia Eagles’ LeSean McCoy and Cleveland Browns’ rookie Trent Richardson.
But New York was phenomenal on Sunday and held the 49ers to just 80 yards rushing. Running back Frank Gore, who averaged 86.8 rushing yards per game coming into the Niners’ NFC Championship Game rematch with the Giants, tallied just 36 yards on the ground.
The Giants’ success against the run translated to their ability to rush the passer, which had been unimpressive to date. The 49ers’ struggles to keep their opponent’s defensive players out of the backfield on the run forced them to turn to the pass more often. Thus, the Giants got the opportunity to do what they do best — attack the quarterback.
“We stopped the run, that was the most important thing,” Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora said after the game (via Giants.com). “Anytime you stop the run that is going to put us in the position to rush the passer, we are going to take advantage of anybody.”
And take advantage they did, recording six sacks — nearly matching their season total. The Giants placed 49ers’ quarterback Alex Smith under consistent pressure and forced him to make foolish decisions that resulted in three costly interceptions.
Those interceptions turned into points — 13 of their 26 that afternoon — and those points helped lift the Giants to a statement win by a dominant margin against all odds.
“The number one thing going in against San Francisco is you have to stop the run. It was a very detailed preparation week in terms of stopping the run, period,” head coach Tom Coughlin said on Monday. “We felt like if we could do that, perhaps we could have a chance to rush the passer, that’s all.”
Going forward, the Giants will have to depend on much of the same kind of dominance against the run in order to open up opportunities for their fearsome pass rush to go to work. Opposing teams prepare all week long to slow down the trio of Umenyiora, Jason Pierre-Paul and Justin Tuck, and had been rather successful going into Week 6.
That becomes especially so when looking at the opponents remaining on the Giants’ schedule with top-flight rushing attacks: the Washington Redskins (twice), the Cowboys, the Atlanta Falcons, the Baltimore Ravens and the Eagles. Those six games will be tough tests for New York and could prove to be the defining factor in their 2012 campaign.
If they can play at the level they did against the Niners, they should be able to excel in each of these upcoming contests quite handily. And if the Giants can do that, they will be in good position to become the first repeat Super Bowl champions since the New England Patriots did it in 2003 and 2004.
Louis Musto is a contributor for the Sports Journey Broadcasting Network covering the NFL and NBA. You can follow him on Twitter @LouisMusto.