The New York Giants will host the red-hot Green Bay Packers on Monday night. The Giants, coming off their bye week are expected to be well-rested and up for the challenge against a Packers team fighting for a playoff spot and playing their best football of the season. But despite the Packers’ recent success, there is still one weakness in their game that the Giants could exploit en route to an upset win.
The Packers are struggling to defend the run
While the Packers did manage to beat the defending Super Bowl champions last week, it was no easy match for Green Bay and the Chiefs did exploit one of their potential weaknesses.
Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco rushed for 110 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries against the Packers. Green Bay surrendered 148 total rushing yards in the contest as their defense continued to struggle against the run. The Packers are surrendering 136.3 rushing yards per game this season — the third-most in the NFL.
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The Giants need to feed Saquon Barkley
To take advantage of Green Bay’s susceptible run defense, the game plan for the Giants should be simple: Feed Saquon Barkley. The superstar running back has 697 yards on the ground this season with only one rushing touchdown to his name. Despite the lack of total production, Barkley is still averaging 4.2 yards per attempt this season.
In order to upset the Packers on primetime, Barkley will have to be a focal point in New York’s offense. In Week 12 against the New England Patriots, Barkley took only 12 handoffs for 46 yards as Big Blue scraped on by with a 10–7 victory at home.
Against one of the league’s worst run defenses in Green Bay, expect Barkley to be more heavily involved in the game plan this Monday night as the Giants aim to keep their season alive with a win.
