How Big Blue Can Run One Unsuccessful Play from the Past in 2026
The New York Giants’ offseason has given them plenty of time to work on putting their team back together. They have brought in many new faces between the coaching staff and the front office. It all depends on them as to how this team is going to play next season. They have the puzzle pieces now; it’s a matter of getting them placed where they belong. The Giants are going to spend this offseason reworking their plays and figuring out how they will forge ahead next season. One of the biggest schemes the Giants need to remove from the playbook is running straight into the defensive lines they are playing against.
This play has been used in nearly every Giants game and every other football game that this team has played. It never seems to work, and the Giants are losing the ball consistently. The only one who was ever able to break through was former Giants running back and Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl LIX Champion Saquon Barkley. Even before he left, the Giants struggled with this play. The only other person who successfully performed this play was Cam Skattebo, before his injury last season. This play just hasn’t worked.
Since then, the Giants have put in running back Devin Singletary. He would run right through the opposing team's defensive line and would be stopped. The only time it was ever successful was on third-down conversions. When they played it and didn’t have third downs, it failed, and Big Blue would kick the ball away. It was almost as if the Giants were stumped on what else to try.
It was almost as if former coach Brian Daboll didn’t trust his quarterback, Jaxson Dart. The Giants need to let him pass the ball so he can learn from it. The way they can make this work and have also continued to make this work is when they do a fake-out, and they can get the ball out quickly. It would be better for the Giants to set up to run the ball on every play. The Giants have options that they haven’t realized and utilized over the past few seasons.
If the Giants’ new head coach, John Harbaugh, decides to keep this play, he will be able to use it effectively between Dart and Skattebo. Dart could hand the ball off to him and continue as they have done in the past by breaking through opposing teams’ defensive lines. This is the type of play that has worked in the past. He needs strong players like Dart and Skattebo. Despite his injury from last season, he may be back to the player that he was before he went out. Skattebo has been pulling this play off for years, even while he was playing in Arizona. The only downfall for the Giants is that they have been constantly playing it over and over again. It always puts a damper on the team's hopes to get explosive plays out. The Giants were even fined for running Barkley as much as they did using this play several years ago.
Harbaugh just needs to get the two of them and the rest of the team to be on the same page in trying new plays. That’s what this team is looking for, something new; they don’t need to go backwards. They need to start moving ahead and rework at least several of their plays. This scheme is the top one. It would work so much better for the Giants if they would just try something else. Harbaugh can continue to utilize this play on third down conversions, but not for plays trying to get the ball to move more quickly down the field. An area where both fans and analysts have seen sparks of last season.
Harbaugh definitely has his work cut out for him during the offseason and the regular season. He is already making changes to this team. If this Super Bowl-winning head coach can break the Giants’ streak and remove this scheme altogether, the Giants may be better than they thought. They may actually also see the playoffs this year if they are able to pull off several wins. It all depends on whether this team can switch the way things are done.
