New York Giants: Wayne Gallman had season best performance in Seattle

New York Giants, Wayne Gallman
Aug 29, 2019; Foxborough, MA, USA; New York Giants running back Wayne Gallman (22) runs with the ball against the New England Patriots during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants lost a lot of their potential in the running game when Saquon Barkley went down early in the season with an injury that would take him out for the year. However, the situation hasn’t been hopeless and while the team previously struggled to move the ball on the ground at all, things have improved. The Seahawks game might be the best example of that improvement. Not only did they beat an 8-3 team while playing their backup quarterback, but the Giants saw one of their running backs have a career day.

That running back is Wayne Gallman, who previously has teetered between being in and out of the team’s plans. Before the start of the season, it was possible to question whether the Giants needed Gallman. Now, Gallman has rewarded their faith in keeping him around with his best rushing performance of the season.

Wayne Gallman’s career day against Seattle

That performance saw him rack up 16 carries, 135 yards, and 8.44 yards per carry. Those numbers are more than Giants running backs have typically been getting this season. For much of the season before Gallman stepped up his performances after all, Daniel Jones was the leading rusher. And that’s never a good sign. It’s easy to forget just how hopeless the rushing situation for the Giants seemed before things picked up.

Jason Garrett has gotten a lot of flak this season as an offensive coordinator, but despite any faults, it’s worth giving a lot of credit to Garrett and the offensive coaching staff in general for overseeing a turnaround in the middle of the season. Not every team is able to make these kinds of adjustments in a span of weeks.

It would have been easy to dismiss the rushing game this season and give up after Barkley was injured. But that isn’t what happened. And as Daniel Jones possibly comes back this week, we might just see a more multi faceted attack from the Giants involving both the ground game and the passing game making strides.