For the first time since Rashad Jennings went down with a knee injury in Week 5, Giants running back Andre Williams had real competition for touches Week 9 against Indianapolis. Peyton Hillis played almost the same number of snaps and actually had more total yards, gaining 20 on four carries and 50 on five catches.
Now obviously, the Giants were down big in this game from pretty much the outset. They were forced to throw the ball and, at least judging by the numbers, have never regarded Williams as much of a pass catcher. Maybe if the game had unfolded differently, Williams would have once again kept Hillis out of the box score.
But there's another issue at play here. Williams got three times as many carries as Hillis and gained only 22 yards with them, averaging 1.8 per carry. He has averaged just 2.9 yards per carry since Jennings went down and is averaging 3.0 for the season.
That's not good, and by now, the Giants have to realize it's making their offense one-dimensional. Jennings may well return Week 10 at Seattle, but if he doesn't, Williams may be looking at more of a timeshare.