The New York Giants suffered a brutal loss to the Baltimore Ravens today. This was largely considered to be a must-win game as the Giants are pushing to narrowly win their division and make the playoffs.
Unfortunately, the Giants were not able to pull out this win and lost to the Ravens by a score of 27-13. The Giants were playing from behind for the entirety of this game as Baltimore cruised ahead to their tenth win of the season.
The Ravens have the best rushing attack in the NFL. Heading into this game, Baltimore had run for 100 yards in every single game this season. They had totaled 200 or more rushing yards in four games this season. With a dominant performance on the ground on Sunday, the Ravens pushed the total to five 200 yard rushing games in 2020.
The Ravens ran all over the Giants
The New York Giants could not stop the Baltimore Ravens’ rushing attack on Sunday. Granted, every team has failed to shut down the Ravens’ run game. But New York’s defense was dominated by the Ravens’ offense on the ground.
The Ravens had numerous runners thrash the Giants in Week 16. The Baltimore Ravens averaged 6.2 yards per rushing attempt. Their leading rusher, Gus Edwards, had 15 carries for a total of 85 yards. Edwards was not the only rusher to reach 80 yards on the ground, though. Quarterback Lamar Jackson totaled 80 rushing yards on 13 carries. On top of that, the Ravens had a third rusher near in on 80 yards. Rookie running back J.K. Dobbins ran the ball 11 times for 77 yards.
The Baltimore Ravens’ offense racked up 249 rushing yards against the Giants. This is Baltimore’s third-highest rushing total in a single game this season.
The Giants’ defense had no answers for the Ravens’ rushing attack. Baltimore was able to score two touchdowns through the air today, but they were set up by the running game. The Ravens totaled only 183 passing yards against the Giants. Lamar Jackson took what the defense gave him in the passing game, but Baltimore did nearly all of their damage in the running game.
Despite this disappointing loss, the Giants are still alive in the playoff hunt. But in order for them to secure the NFC East, New York needs to be better on both sides of the ball. The Giants will play the Dallas Cowboys next week in another must-win matchup. Dallas ran the ball for 151 yards today and has eclipsed 100 rushing yards in nine of their fifteen games this season. If the Giants want to go to the playoffs, they need to improve their run defense immediately.