3 NFL Storylines to Watch in Week 10

Orleans Darkwa and the Opportunity of a Lifetime

Just about every NFL running back wants to face the San Francisco 49ers right now. That's exactly the opportunity Orleans Darkwa is presented with this week when the 1-7 New York Giants travel across the country as slight road favorites to play the winless Niners.

Since Week 5, San Francisco's defense has allowed 25 rushes of 10 yards or more. Only the Kansas City Chiefs have been worse, while the only other team to allow 20 or more during that span is Tampa Bay. Not only has San Francisco surrendered the most rushing yards to backs thus far, they've also conceded the most receiving yards to the position. When viewed on a per-game basis, the Niners are allowing a whopping 27.5 FanDuel points to opposing running backs; that's a full two points per game ahead of the next-closest defense.

Speaking of the Chiefs, Darkwa will see them at MetLife Stadium next week. In fact, over the next five games, Darkwa draws four of the 11 worst run defenses, according to numberFire's metrics.

After suffering through limited early-season returns from second-year running back Paul Perkins and rookie Wayne Gallman, Darkwa has led the Giants' backfield in snaps two of the last three games, seeing 21 and 16 carries in those contests. Assuming he continues to get the majority of the playing time, this upcoming stretch could prove to be a great resume builder for Darkwa, who is a pending free agent.