The best way for the Giants to help struggling quarterback Eli Manning is with a little more Brandon Jacobs, circa last Thursday night in Chicago.
Sure, Jacobs’ 106 rushing yards on 22 carries against the Bears came in a loss, but it was the most positive thing to come out of that game for the Giants considering it was Jacobs’ largest rushing output since Dec. 13, 2010, and the Giants are desperate for a strong running game.
“It felt normal,’’ Jacobs said. “I felt good out there. It’s nothing that I haven’t done before.’’
Yes, but it was nothing he had done in a while. His last 100-yard rushing game came in 2011.
The question now is whether Jacobs can duplicate his Thursday night performance when the Giants take on the Vikings Monday night.
The Giants are ranked 30th in the NFL in rushing offense and their lead back, David Wilson, may not play against this season because of a neck injury. So the Giants are in desperate need of another reminiscent performance from Jacobs, who has always been an emotional spark to their offense.
“He ran hard and he was spirited,’’ Giants coach Tom Coughlin said Thursday. “He was physical, he gave our team a nice lift — defense, offense, special teams. I hope he can keep doing it.’’
The way Jacobs carries himself and moves the pile when he’s running well energizes his teammates. Jacobs, too, is a vocal leader, whose leadership takes on a much more significant role the more he contributes on the field.
“He’s a voice in here,’’ Giants receiver Victor Cruz said. “That’s a voice that I missed when he left [after the 2011 season]. He was one of the most dominant voices I heard when I first came here, always making his presence felt. All you can do is rally behind a guy like that. I love the guy to death.
“I was happy for him when I saw him running the ball for us last week. It was good not only for himself but for the team, because we had been lacking that running game. If he can bring that back for us consistently it would be great.’’
Jacobs will be joined in the Giants backfield Monday by fellow wide-body running back Peyton Hillis, who was signed on Wednesday.
Hillis, who rushed for 1,177 yards and 11 TDs for the Browns in 2010, is looking forward to an opportunity he wasn’t certain he’d get again.
“I don’t feel like this is my time to go,’’ Hillis said. “I feel that I’ve still got a lot more left to give and so I’m going to go out there Monday and try to give it all I’ve got. I expect to be in the playbook and play as much as I possibly can.
Hillis, like Jacobs, has not been productive since 2010, rushing for a total of 895 yards with four touchdowns in 23 games with three different teams during that span.
“I’ve been very humbled over the past couple of years,’’ Hillis said. “It’s very humbling to move around from team to team, and it shows how fast you can be out of the loop. I just really haven’t found the niche that I need to stay with a team and produce for them. I’m here now. I’m in the greatest city in the world playing for a great team and I’m just really excited about it. Hopefully I can [stay] here.’’