Rookie RB Paul Perkins could give Giants needed spark
LANDOVER, Md. – All year long, there was something the New York Giants lacked – something that all but three teams accomplished during the regular season.
But Sunday night in a 19-10 victory against the Washington Redskins, the Giants finally made it happen, albeit barely.
“I didn't even know I had 100 yards until someone told me two minutes ago,” running back Paul Perkins told reporters Sunday night after the game.
Perkins started the first game of his career Sunday evening and ran the ball 21 times for 102 yards, marking the first time all season that a Giants player has surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark. Perkins has slowly taken command of the job, earning more rushing yards than previous starter Rashad Jennings in the last three weeks.
“I thought he ran nicely,” Giants coach Ben McAdoo said in his postgame news conference. “I thought he had a couple nice cuts and stuck his foot in the ground. He had a chance to put his pads on a couple times and run for some physical, tough yards. We’ll take a look at the tape.”
With Perkins’ performance, the Giants avoided joining the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, and Los Angeles Rams as the only teams to not have at least one player eclipse the 100-yard total in a game.
And as the Giants prepare to face the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Lambeau Field in the wild-card round, Perkins – a rookie fifth-round pick out of UCLA – may be the key to revitalizing New York’s running game.
The Packers are the eighth-best squad in the league at stopping the run, allowing just 94.7 yards per game.
During the regular season, Perkins totaled 112 carries for 456 yards for a 4.1 yards per carry average, but didn’t score a touchdown yet. By comparison, Jennings holds team highs for New York in rushing for attempts (181), yards (593) and touchdowns (three) with a 3.3 yards per carry average.
In a conference call with reporters Monday, McAdoo evaded questions about who the starting running back will be moving forward. Perkins, however, is starting to separate himself from the competition.
“I've been real comfortable coming down the stretch,” Perkins said Sunday night. “Veteran guys and all the guys have been real supportive of me before the game. Helping me out and calming me down some.”
Even with Perkins’ big regular-season finale – and the Giants amassing 161 rushing yards in total – New York still finished the regular season ranked 29th in the league with only 88.2 rushing yards per game. As quarterback Eli Manning and the Giant offense has been waiting for a signature, breakout performance all season, a steady dose of Perkins may open up the passing game for New York in the playoffs.
“That is big,” Manning said after the game. “They were playing a lot of two-high safeties, so you have to run the ball in those looks. We did a good job kind of running them out of it a little bit. (They) brought in some single-high finally and made some plays with that.
“That’s big. Just helps continue the clock, running the clock. Our defense is playing outstanding, so that is a pretty good formula if your defense is playing strong and running the football well. You are going to be strong going forward.”
Follow Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes.
PHOTOS: Best of NFL Week 17