0-6 Giants Will Be Tested at the One Thing They've Done Well Kathy Willens/Associated Press Denver's Knowshon Moreno (27) ran for 93 yards against the Giants in Game 2, and only Carolina's DAngelo Williams has rushed for 100 yards against them. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - There are not many things the winless Giants have done well this season. There is probably only one significant, measurable category in which they have had modest success: stopping the opposing team's featured running back. To be fair, if that is an acknowledged accomplishment for the 2013 Giants, it comes with a caveat. What the Giants have achieved in most games is stopping the opposition's top running back from taking over the game with a significant number of rushing yards. But if that is a Giants strength - can an 0-6 team have a strength? - it could be especially relevant Monday night when the Giants play the Minnesota Vikings and Adrian Peterson, who nearly broke the N.F.L. record for rushing yards in a season last year. In their six games this year, the Giants have allowed only one running back, Carolina's DAngelo Williams, to rush for more than 100 yards (Williams had 120 yards). And the Giants have faced some of the most productive backs in the league. Philadelphia's LeSean McCoy gained only 46 yards in 20 rushing carries, and Chicago's Matt Forte had just 67 in 19 attempts. Denver's Knowshon Moreno had a strong game (93 yards on 13 carries), but Kansas City's star running back, Jamaal Charles, did not (65 yards on 18 attempts). Over all, the starting running backs against the Giants have averaged 79.5 yards. Only two opposing teams have totaled more than 100 yards rushing by their entire corps of backs - excluding quarterbacks. Peterson enters Monday's game averaging 96.6 yards. Stopping the run was a major goal of the Giants heading into the 2013 season. After giving up nearly 130 rushing yards a game in 2012, the Giants signed the free-agent defensive tackles Cullen Jenkins and Mike Patterson. They also used their second draft pick in April on another tackle, Jonathan Hankins of Ohio State. Earlier this month, the Giants also traded for middle linebacker Jon Beason, whose reputation as a run stopper earned him three Pro Bowl appearances. "Stopping the run is elemental football," the Giants" defensive coordinator, Perry Fewell, said. You have to physically control the line of scrimmage and not let teams run over you. We knew we had to get better at that. So far this season, the Giants have risen to the challenge. Monday presents what should be the greatest test so far, especially because the Vikings may turn to Peterson that much more with quarterback Josh Freeman making his first start for the team. Freeman probably remains unfamiliar with parts of the Minnesota offense and could rely heavily on Peterson's no-nonsense ground game. "It's no surprise that they want to run the football and run it often," Giants Coach Tom Coughlin said "That's how they want to play. It hasn't surprised any of the teams that they have played against, and Peterson has still gotten loose for a 78-yarder and a 60-yarder. The only way to stop him is to bring a lot of guys. You better have numbers against him. Giants defenders have preached a gang mentality all week. They also know that Peterson lulls defenses into a false sense that he has been subdued and is no longer dangerous. "On film, you see team after team holding him down or playing very tough against him for three quarters," Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said. And then - boom - that's when he breaks one play for 70 yards and a touchdown. It also applies to each play. You can have him hemmed in with three guys and all of a sudden, he cuts back and runs away from all three guys. Jenkins said Peterson was different from any other N.F.L. back. "His size and quickness make him unique and difficult to control," Jenkins said. There's a combination of skills, and it's as if he has two or three different gears - he can go from one level to the next level to the next level. What has worked for the Giants" rushing defense in the first six games will work again Monday, Fewell said. But he added that he thought the defense would be mentally tested by Petersen. "Adrian is dynamic and patient at the same time," Fewell said. So we have to be the same. And when I say patient, I mean that you can contain him, contain him, contain him, but you can't think you've got him under control. That's the most dangerous thought of all. Or as Tuck summed up the assignment: "Adrian is the best, most consistent back in the league. So now we'll definitely find out how much we've improved as a run-stopping defense.