New York Giants Full Team Grades vs. Miami Dolphins

Dec 14, 2015; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; New York Giants running back Rashad Jennings (23) carries the ball against the Miami Dolphins during the first half at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Rushing Offense: B-

The Giants’ rushing stats don’t look impressive, but this was a huge improvement over what we have seen from the ground attack. The Giants ran for only 92 on 32 carries for an anemic 2.9 yards per carry, but they got the job done when it mattered most.

For basically the first time all season the Giants picked a running back and rode him instead of using all four of the running backs on the roster. It worked tonight, as Rashad Jennings ran hard after also questioning the offense earlier in the week. He had his best game of the season, rushing for a season high 81 yards on 22 carries. That is the same amount of carries that Jennings had in the last three games combined, as this was the first time the Giants really relied on one running back.

He also added two receptions for 21 yards, as this was the first game this season that Jennings had over 100 yards from scrimmage in. He was helped the Giants kill the clock on their final drive of the game, and has probably earned the starting role and majority of the carries in the backfield going forward.

One player that we shouldn’t see much more of is Andre Williams. His shortcomings have been well documented this season, and he added to those problems tonight with a fumble on a botched exchange. He didn’t see the field after that outside of the special teams, which is probably where he will spend a majority of his time the remainder of the season unless an injury occurs.

Jennings had 24 of 33 touches in the Giants backfield tonight, and with the success they had with clock management tonight there is no reason that should change. Jennings backed up his talk and gave a strong performance. He deserves to get a majority of the touches again in what will be a hard matchup against the Panthers next week.

Next: Passing Defense Grade