Giants Now: Young running backs step up

Young Giants running backs step up

The Giants got their preseason off to a strong start Thursday night with a 14-3 victory over the Detroit Lions.

The run game served as the catalyst for the offense against the Lions. Giants running backs Eric Gray, Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Dante ‘Turbo’ Miller combined for 141 yards on just 21 carries, good for an impressive average of 6.7 yards per carry, while also contributing in the passing game.

Several media outlets praised the performance of the young running backs in the preseason opener, starting with Pro Football Focus.

“The Giants have to be happy with how their primary backup running backs performed Thursday night,” PFF’s editorial team wrote. “While likely starter Devin Singletary got the night off, Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Eric Gray performed exceedingly well in the first half. Gray averaged 12.25 yards per touch while accumulating over 50% of New York’s first-half offense while Tracy forced five missed tackles and picked up three first downs across five carries.”

Tracy was the first running back on the field Thursday, and while he touched the ball only five times, he turned that into five missed tackles and three first downs. The rookie fifth-round pick totaled 26 yards while averaging 5.2 yards per carry.

Once Tracy came off the field, Gray fully took over the game. The second-year back finished with four rush attempts for 52 yards and two touchdowns, including an eye-opening juke to get by a Lions defender on his way to a 48-yard touchdown.