The Packers will head to MetLife Stadium on Sunday a compromised team, with third-string quarterback Scott Tolzien taking the snaps instead of former Super Bowl champion and MVP Aaron Rodgers.
In recent years, the prospect of starting a third-string quarterback would be calamitous to a Green Bay team that has struggled to establish a running game.
This season, however, the Packers appear to have found an answer in the backfield in Eddie Lacy, the team’s second-round pick from Alabama.
After totaling only 51 yards in his first two games, Lacy has averaged 103 yards over his last six games.
“They got a steal,” Justin Tuck said of Lacy. “He makes all [of] the right reads, it seems like. Even when it’s not a very impressive run, [he] still has second-and-5, second-and-4. He always falls forward. He’s a very strong back. He reminds me of a bigger Marshawn Lynch.”
Last season, the Packers’ leading rusher, Alex Green, ran for 464 yards. Lacy already has rushed for 669 yards.
“The balance is the key in what they’ve done,” coach Tom Coughlin said. “Lacy’s a powerful runner, and you’re going to have to get a number of people to the ball in order to contain or control what he can do, because you watch him break tackles on tape.”
The Giants can expect a steady dose of Lacy to keep the pressure off Tolzien, who is making his first NFL start as he tries to fill the shoes of Rodgers, who is out with a broken collarbone.
“They’re probably going to try to feature him a little more and try to keep the down and distance in their favor,” Tuck said.
Jason Pierre-Paul, who may not play Sunday because of a shoulder injury that caused him to miss practice Wednesday, said the key to stopping Lacy is not to let him get a head of steam.
“We [have] to get him going east and west,” he said. “When he runs downhill, he’s a very good running back. He hits the holes pretty good too.”
“He’s more shifty than people think, and he has a little bit of speed on him,” linebacker Jon Beason added. “Every week, it’s something different. He’s shown that he can really carry the load the last couple of weeks, so it’s a big challenge [not only] for myself, but the whole defense in terms of stopping the run.”
The Giants have been stout against the run, ranking 10th in the league in yardage allowed.
They stymied two elite running backs in the Eagles’ LeSean McCoy and the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson. In three games against the Giants, those two backs totaled 122 yards on 48 carries (2.5 yards per attempt).
If the Giants’ defense can rise up again on Sunday and shut Lacy down, it will force the inexperienced Tolzien to make plays.
Should that occur, it’s advantage Giants, and what would appear to be a clear path to a fourth consecutive victory.