Jacobs leads Giants' resurgent run game

The facts were ugly. And Brandon Jacobs knew it.

The Giants' running attack, once the heart and soul of the offense, impressed no one. The Giants finished the regular season with the worst ground game in the NFL, averaging 89.2 yards a game.

Eli Manning and his crew of star receivers had replaced Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw as the dependable driving force of the offense. Even Jacobs' offensive coordinator, Kevin Gilbride, had labeled the ground game as "really poor" at the start of the season.

All of this ran through Jacobs' head as he ran through the Falcons' defensive line -- again and again -- Sunday in the Giants' 24-2 wild-card playoff victory at MetLife Stadium.

"At this time of the year, this is what you are going to have to do to stay in games," Jacobs said. "We can throw it to win games, as well, but why not use all our weapons?"

The Giants gained 172 yards on the ground, including 92 by Jacobs and 63 by Bradshaw, and averaged 5.5 yards. Their running helped the Giants stay in the game in the first half when their passing attack still was getting up to speed.

Jacobs was particularly impressive on the Giants' only touchdown drive of the first half. He had a 34-yard run to the Falcons' 15-yard line and picked up the first down on fourth-and-1 one play before Manning hit Hakeem Nicks for a 4-yard touchdown and a 7-2 lead.

"I thought Brandon Jacobs set the tone of the game," Tom Coughlin said.

It was a formidable showing for a team that will play top-seeded Green Bay at Lambeau Field in an NFC divisional playoff game Sunday. A respectable ground attack will go a long way toward keeping Aaron Rodgers and the Packers' powerful offense off the field. Rodgers led the Packers to a 38-35 win over the Giants at MetLife Stadium in early December.

"We feel good about our running game and we stick to it," Bradshaw said.

Even before Sunday, there were signs that the Giants' running game no longer was wearing cement shoes. Beginning with the Dec. 4 loss to the Packers, the Giants rushed for more than 100 yards in four of their previous five games.

Part of the problem with the running game might have been the changes in the offensive line. Injuries and a change of personnel created some inconsistency early in the season, but now the players are starting to get a better feel for one another.

"We've just been doing a lot of little things better," center David Baas said. "It's nothing dramatic. It's just the simplest things."

The outcome Sunday, however, was dramatic. It gave Manning his first home playoff win in three tries. It also gave the Giants a pretty good feeling as they prepare to face the defending Super Bowl champion Packers.

Said Bradshaw: "We feel as tough as any NFL team in the league."