Ravens unable to stop Giants' fierce rushing attack
Associated Press - From NFL.com
Associated Press - From NFL.com
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants needed only two plays to show they could run the ball against Ray Lewis and the NFL's stingiest rushing defense.
Of course, the one that set the stage was a busted play.
Brandon Jacobs set up the first of his two short touchdown runs by bouncing to the outside for a tone-setting 36-yard ramble and the Giants (9-1) amassed more than 200 yards rushing for the third straight game in a 30-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
"You tell me," Jacobs said when asked if his run down the left sideline set the tone for the game. "I think it did right away. The guys knew right away we could run the ball on these guys. It's not impossible."
Running against the Ravens (6-4) had been impossible for everyone else for the first nine games. They led the league, yielding an average of 65.4 yards, and no individual had rushed for 100 yards in any of the past 28 games against them.
Jacobs might have gotten there had he not tweaked a knee in the first half. He finished with 73 yards on 11 carries, but he had only two carries after halftime.
The one that will be remembered came on the second play from scrimmage. Jacobs took a handoff toward the right guard and found the hole stacked with four Ravens. So he improvised. He reversed to the left and outrun the backside containment and went down the sideline.
Ravens defensive end Trevor Pryce called the play a game changer.
"It showed them that they could run the ball," Pryce said. "When you do that against our defense, you have some confidence. It makes things easier. The way it happened was a fluke when we had him, but he bounced and went all the way to the other side. You don't think that a big back can run that fast, but he does."
The Giants finished with 207 yards rushing against a defense that had not given up more than 76 yards to any opponent this season. The last time an opponent got more than 100 yards was Seattle, which ran for 144 on Dec. 23, 2007.
"They have a great defense, a great front, great linebackers with a lot of experience," Giants offensive tackle David Diehl said. "You watch film and you see teams get frustrated by only making 2 or 3 yards or getting tackled for a loss. The great thing is, we just stuck to our game plan. We knew that if we just kept pounding away that eventually they were going to crack."
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