EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The New York Giants running game has caught up with Eli Manning and the passing attack, and that’s not good news for opposing defenses.

If teams put eight defenders in the box to take away the Giants’ running game, Manning has a bevy of young receivers, including Steve Smith and Mario Manningham.

If opponents try to take away the passing game, as Tampa Bay opted for on Sunday, the Giants have Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. The two combined for 196 of New York’s 226 yards rushing in a 24-0 win over the Bucs.

“Once we start having success running the ball that opens up everything in terms of offensively being able to throw the ball and whatnot,” tight end Kevin Boss said. “It’s definitely crucial to our success, running the ball.”

The Giants (3-0) led the NFL in rushing in 2008, averaging 157.4 yards. In the opening two games of the season, Washington limited them to 103 yards on 31 carries and Dallas held them to 97 yards on 26 carries, but Manning and his young receivers carried the offense.

Smith said the Buccaneers showed the Giants receivers a lot more respect on Sunday, frequently playing their safeties over the top to prevent deep throws.

“We try to keep them guessing,” Smith said of the Giants offense. “Hopefully, if they keep doing that, we can exploit what they are doing, what they are giving up for us to take.”

Tackle David Diehl said the offensive line knew it was capable of getting the running game going.

“Running the ball is one of the strengths of our offense,” he said. “As offensive linemen we wish we could run the ball 70 times. It’s a mental attitude of whatever is in front of you, you are going to continue to fight and push and make sure you open up holes for those guys because they run extremely hard and are elusive and make plays for our offense.”

As the game went on Sunday, Diehl said it was easy to see the Bucs linebackers cheating toward the line of scrimmage.

“It’s great to go out there this past week and hammer out the run game and run the ball as many times as we did,” Diehl said. “It’s not always going to work out that way and you’ll have to make adjustments. However, we feel regardless of what you throw at us, we’ll make the adjustments and get it done.”

In beating the Redskins and Cowboys, it was the Giants receivers who had to adjust. Both NFC East foes tried to challenge the wideouts by playing a lot of one-on-one coverages while bringing a safety into the box to stop the run.

But Manning picked those defenses apart, passing for 248 yards against Washington and 330 against Dallas.

“You never know what you are going to have, but we feel like we can always emphasize one more than the other if we have to,” said Manning, who was 14 for 24 against Tampa Bay for 161 yards and two touchdowns. “But it’s good to be balanced and have a good mix.”

Guard Chris Snee said the offense put an emphasis on establishing the running game against Tampa Bay – the first three plays from scrimmage and seven of 12 on the game-opening touchdown drive were runs.

“We knew that was going to have to be the formula from the outset,” Snee said. “We really got bailed out by our passing game the first two weeks. We were excited to get that going. The key now is to maintain it and build on it. We just looked at the tape, and we left a lot of yards on the field.”

Coach Tom Coughlin said Jacobs and Bradshaw did excellent jobs of getting yards after the initial contact. Bradshaw did it with a couple of extra spins, while Jacobs simply pushed the pile.

Fullback Madison Hedgecock said the Giants also benefited playing an aggressive Bucs defense.

“They are more of a fast-flowing defense and you’ll have a lot more cutback lanes with a Tampa Bay versus a Dallas or Washington,” he said.

Coughlin wants more from his offense. He wants it to be able to run against eight-man fronts.

“We want balance,” he said. “There is always going to be a theme, something in terms of a plan that allows us to play a certain way to win a game.”

There will be some questions about the offensive line this week. Right tackle Kareem McKenzie sprained his right knee and left guard Rich Seubert hurt his left shoulder. Coughlin thinks Seubert will play, but he is uncertain about McKenzie. Rookie William Beatty played well filling in for him.

The Giants play at the Kansas City Chiefs (0-3) on Sunday.

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