Giants RB Andre Williams Could Be in for a Breakout Performance vs. Eagles

The New York Giants have won three straight games to solidify their status as a contender in the NFC East, but that third victory came at a cost.

Top back Rashad Jennings, who ranked third in the NFL in rushing yards through four weeks, suffered a sprained MCL against the Falcons. According to NJ.com's Jordan Raanan, he is expected to miss Sunday's big divisional matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles.

As good as Jennings has been this season, everyone knows that the long-term plan is for rookie fourth-round pick Andre Williams to become the bell cow in that backfield.

With that in mind, the injury to Jennings could pave the way for the Boston College product to make a statement in what is expected to be his first career start Sunday night in Philly.

The circumstances couldn't be more ideal for the feisty yet sneakily explosive 22-year-old. Williams tore it up in the preseason and has seen his workload and production increase on a weekly basis thus far in the regular season.

	Touches	Yards from scrimmage
Week 1	5	9
Week 2	10	19
Week 3	6	18
Week 4	15	66
Week 5	22	83

Plus, he has a favorable matchup against a depleted Eagles front seven.

Both of Philadelphia's starting inside linebackers, DeMeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks, missed significant chunks of practice time this week. Actually, ESPN.com's Phil Sheridan reports Kendricks (calf) had yet to suit up all week as of Thursday, while Ryans (groin) returned on a limited basis Thursday.

Ryans leads the team in tackles, while Kendricks had a positive grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) against the run last year and has shown steady improvement three seasons into his career.

Without those guys, the Eagles would be in big trouble. They're already quite thin in the middle with Najee Goode and Travis Long on injured reserve, and there's a big drop-off in talent when you go to guys like Casey Matthews and Emmanuel Acho.

But even if one or both of those guys is able to play, the injuries in question should factor in. This Phillly defense already ranks in the bottom 10 in football against the run.

Just this past week, the Eagles allowed Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham of the St. Louis Rams to rush for 89 yards on 18 carries (4.9 yards per rush). Frank Gore—who has a similar running style to that of Williams—tore them apart for 174 yards from scrimmage in Week 4.

Earlier this season, Ahmad Bradshaw and Trent Richardson had 149 combined rushing yards on 34 attempts against them.

Team	Total
Green Bay Packers	815
Oakland Raiders	633
Cleveland Browns	610
St. Louis Rams	610
Atlanta Falcons	738
Cincinnati Bengals	560
Tennessee Titans	684
Houston Texans	661
Philadelphia Eagles	660
Carolina Panthers	648

The point is they're vulnerable. For Williams, it's right place, right time.

Sixty-nine of Williams' 125 snaps have come in the last two weeks, and he earned positive grades from PFF (subscription required) on both occasions. That's a good sign considering how easy it is for young players to wind up losing snaps as a result of being relocated to head coach Tom Coughlin's world-famous proverbial doghouse.

If you're going to earn consistent snaps on offense in New York, you'd better be able to do the little things right.

The rap on Williams this offseason was that he wasn't a polished pass-catcher. He's a bruiser, so catching screens isn't exactly his style. In fact, he had only 10 grabs during his four seasons at Boston College.

Rarely are rookie backs dependable blockers, so that was also a concern entering the year.

But Williams actually caught a couple of balls against Atlanta, including a 14-yard first-down pick-up on a surprisingly smooth catch-and-run underneath in the third quarter. He does have a pair of drops, but so did Jennings before getting hurt.

The key is that he's touched the ball 58 times and has yet to fumble. You'd think his never-give-up running style would lead to the odd turnover, but aside from a three-fumble anomaly against North Carolina State, Williams had little trouble with ball security at the college level.

The jury's still out on his blocking since Jennings was usually on the field for obvious passing downs, but we can report—per PFF (subscription required)—that the kid has yet to give up a hurry, hit or sack on 13 pass-blocking snaps.

And it's not as though he'll have to carry the entire load Sunday, because veteran back Peyton Hillis will likely get some snaps in order to take some of the burden off of the rookie.

The Philly pass rush is competent but far from special. The Eagles rank below the league average with 48 sacks since the start of last season, and their 2013 sack rate of 5.2 ranked tied for last in the NFL.

Amazingly, the Giants' offensive line has given up only 29 pressures in five games, which PFF (subscription required) indicates is the third-lowest total in the NFL. The key there is that, in this ultra-efficient new offense, quarterback Eli Manning is getting rid of the ball faster than anyone in football except his own brother.

Quarterback	Time to attempt
1. Peyton Manning	2.15
2. Eli Manning	2.26
3. Tom Brady	2.27

That should make Williams' job easier. Compared to what the last guy in his shoes, 2012 first-round pick David Wilson, had to deal with, this could be a walk in the park.

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon