The New York Giants need to lean on Orleans Darkwa in their Week 11 matchup with one of the NFL’s best, the Kansas City Chiefs.
After being outscored 106-45 during their three-game losing streak, the New York Giants must now face one of the NFL’s elites, the 6-3 Kansas City Chiefs, who are coming off a bye.
Nobody believes the Giants have a chance against the Chiefs which is why they opened as an 11-point underdog.
If any team in the NFL is in need of win this week it’s the Giants. Their effort has been questioned, their head coach’s future is always being questioned, and they just lost to an 0-9 team.
If the Giants have any hope of winning, they must feature their best running back, Orleans Darkwa. He’s one of the few players whose effort hasn’t been questioned. He’s left it all on the field game after game.
Darkwa saw limited action in the first three games of the season, carrying the ball just 13 times, and he missed the Giants’ fourth game of the season against the Buccaneers due to an injured back.
But since then he’s been on a tear, carrying the ball 68 times for 362 yards.
He’s running hard, breaking tackles, and his 5.1 yards per carry on the season is one of the best in the league. It’s surprising that Darkwa is not getting at least 20 carries a game. The only time that he’s run the ball at least 20 times came in the Giants only win of the season—a 23-10 victory over the Denver Broncos 23-10. Darkwa had 21 carries for 117 yards in the win.
The Chiefs are vulnerable against the run, as they’re giving up 131 yards per game. That ranks 29th out of 32 teams. So you can expect the Giants to have success on the ground—even behind their shaky offensive line.
Establishing the running game with Darkwa will not only make life easier for Eli Manning and the rest of the Giants’ offense, but it will help them control time of possession and keep the Giants defense off the field.
The defense has been putrid over the last two weeks, giving up 82 points. Their confidence has to be shaken, and now they face the Chiefs, who have some of the most talented skill position players in the league in Kareem Hunt, Travis Kelce, and Tyreek Hill.
If the Giants D is on the field for over 30 minutes, they’ll get torched by the Chiefs offense. That’s why it’s imperative that Darkwa be the focal point of the Giants’ offense on Sunday. He’s their best chance of pulling off a huge upset.
