Chargers at Giants: New York’s ground game will explode, end Giants’ swoon

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 8:08 pm

The Giants’ fall from grace has been swift, surprising and hard—if it weren’t for World Series odds, New York fans would have nothing to cheer for. Sunday’s blowout loss to Philadelphia ran the losing streak to three games and knocked New York from first place in the NFC East. The Chargers, meanwhile, gutted out a surprisingly tough victory over the Raiders; the team improved to 4-3, keeping the Wild Card drive alive.

San Diego Chargers at New York Giants

Sunday, Nov. 9 at 4:15 p.m. ET

NFL betting line: Giants -4

The Giants’ offense has completely melted down. The memories of Eli Manning’s fantastic start to the year have been completely erased by the three-game losing streak, during which Manning has turned the ball over seven times. He hasn’t been helped much by his running game, which hasn’t imposed its will as expected. Brandon Jacobs has yet to surpass 100 yards rushing this season while Ahmad Bradshaw is averaging just 33 yards per game in his last three outings.

Of course, the running game might be more effective if there was more time to establish it. The Giants are giving up early leads, meaning Manning and the offense must play catch up. Injuries have crippled New York’s secondary, with starters Kenny Phillips (knee, season) and Aaron Ross (hamstring, indefinite) both going down. Donovan McNabb tossed three touchdowns against the Giants but, worse yet, the rush defense was awful, allowing 175 yards and two long scores.

The secondary issues are news to San Diego’s ears. The Chargers are heavily relying on the pass right now. Philip Rivers is averaging 290 yards per game, and his favorite target, Vincent Jackson, is enjoying a huge campaign. V-Jax has four 100-yard outings this season and has scored in three straight games. This dynamic duo must keep it up since San Diego’s ground game is second worst in the NFL.

Defensively, the Chargers have looked better on sports picks, allowing 23 points during that stretch. It came against two porous offenses, though, in Kansas City and Oakland. The Giants have more playmakers than both those teams combined. Overall the Chargers are surrendering an underwhelming 22.7 points per game. The run defense is the biggest culprit after allowing over 130 yards per game.

This game is exactly what the Giants ordered. San Diego is feeling good after two straight wins, but it came against poor competition. Backed by their home crowd, the Giants can reestablish the ground game against San Diego’s poor run stoppers. Bet on the Giants with your NFL predictions.

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