#running-game

#running-game

After the NFL Draft in April, Giants coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen often used one word to describe their picks: toughness. Daboll said it was something the Giants coveted in free agency, too. Fast-forward six months, and it's starting to manifest more since Jaxson Dart became the starting quarterback. Consider Thursday night's 34-17 win over the Eagles.

"Definitely bothers me," defensive lineman Kayden McDonald said. "If we want to be the best defense in the country, we can't let people score." As the midpoint of the 2025 season arrives, even the most dominant unit on the most dominant team is looking for areas to improve. This has largely been a season of imperfections and invalidated predictions. Don't stare directly at the preseason polls or you'll damage your eyes.

After consecutive losses, the Chargers are at an inflection point. Can they take advantage of a get-right game against a 1-4 team that's just as banged up as the Chargers are? A big challenge will be moving forward with the running game now that rookie Omarion Hampton has joined Najee Harris on injured reserve. The opportunity to pick up lots of yards is there, as Miami's front seven have been hopelessly porous against the run.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- After another physical, grind-it-out win against the Los Angeles Rams last week, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey stood at a podium with a big grin on his face. For a fifth straight week, the Niners' run game had struggled to get going and again failed to post a rushing touchdown. McCaffrey's smile was rooted in one eye-opening statistic: The 2025 Niners are the second team in the past 90 years to not score a rushing touchdown in the opening five weeks and still start 4-1 or better.

For the first time in nearly a year, he feels completely healthy. He wears his normal size 11 cleats, no more steel plate lining the bottom, no more padded insoles, no more toe and foot pain. He thinks about his late grandmothers, two women he calls his "why," and readies himself. It is finally time to show what made the 5-foot-9, 205-pound Durham the top high school running back in his class in Texas: his blend of strength, ability to change direction and speed.

Few surprises here. KhaDarel Hodge is still the man who steps in when Drake London is hurt, Bijan still outsnaps Allgeier by a huge degree even if their carries are pretty even, and the Falcons still use Pitts more often than Woerner. Pitts, I thought, threw some nice blocks yesterday that more than justified that work alongside his production as a receiver.