On the third play of what would be the final go-ahead drive late in the fourth quarter, Bradshaw broke loose off the left end for a 30-yard pickup. It was the second such run of the season for a Giants running back. The only other run north of 20 yards was also by Bradshaw when he gashed the Eagles for 37.
Today, Tom Coughlin called the play that turned the field and led to Lawrence Tynes' 23-yard field goal a "tremendous boost."
David Diehl agreed, but the veteran offensive lineman also took pride in the short yardage that piled up to the first 100-yard rushing game of the season by a Giants back.
"I think it is a big morale booster and that is the thing when it comes to running the football," Diehl said in a conference call on Monday. "When you start off, it is not going to be a big gain right away. Yes, every now and again you are going to have one that is going to break but it is about grinding the ball. It is about a two-yard gain, three yards, four yards, six and two. It is just making sure that you are constantly gaining ground and it was awesome to have that in the fourth quarter because that's the time when the run game is effective."
Fifty-one of Bradshaw's 104 rushing yards came in the fourth quarter (seven carries for a 7.3-yard average). Of Bradshaw's 26 total attempts, 10 were for a yard, no gain, or a loss. And before the 30-yarder, Bradshaw's longest run was 11 yards (he had two of them).
Grinding along was center David Baas, who sat out the previous week with a neck injury. He marked his return by helping to produce the team's best ground game yet.
"We did leave some stuff out there, but we're happy right now," Baas said after the game. "We improved in terms of the run game. We've just got to keep pounding each and every week and getting better as a unit. And that will open up holes for Ahmad or whoever is back there – just give them opportunities and they're going to make great things happen."
