EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – The New York Giants defense was without outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. However, that doesn’t seem to slow him down.
Thibodeaux’s replacement, Azeez Ojulari, was constantly in the backfield. He had two sacks and six pressures, which is tied for most of any player in Week 6. On the other side, outside linebacker Brian Burns had four pressures and two tackles for a loss. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II contributed with his seventh sack of the season, half a sack short of his career high. Mind you, that’s six games into the season.
That’s what drives the Giants defense. New coordinator Shane Bowen’s group is making a name for itself by settling into the opposition’s backfield, more specifically in its front four.
“They can win face-offs,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said after his offense faltered in a 17-7 win over the Giants. “They’ve really invested in this, and it shows.”
It may not have been enough for the Giants to win, but it’s enough to spark optimism that this group is on the verge of being really good.
What the Giants hoped would happen when they traded for Burns from the Carolina Panthers last offseason has started to take shape. Their defense leads the NFL with 26 sacks, four ahead of the closest competitor, the Denver Broncos. The defense is top 10 in scoring (20.2 PPG) and yards allowed (314.0 YPG). This constantly affects opposing high-end quarterbacks and seems to get better every week.
The Giants defense held Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, Dallas’ Dak Prescott and Seattle’s Geno Smith each to fewer than 235 passing yards in successive games.
Burns thinks there is more solid play to come from the defense.
“[The Bengals was] a good performance. This is not the norm,” he said. “Some opportunities we [can] always get. I never want to be complacent. So if there are other games to do, we should do them. »
In a week where the Giants (2-4) prepare to face Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles, the way the defense played only further illustrates why general manager Joe Schoen allowed the running back to walk during an offseason focused on reallocation of resources. His main goals were to improve the pass rush and offensive line, rather than investing high-end money in a running back.
Now, it seems cautious, even if Barkley is having a great season. He is fourth in the NFL in rushing with 482 yards in four games. The Giants, meanwhile, are receiving production from rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. He has flashed enough over the past two weeks to think he can become a starter as a fifth-round pick.
But now, it is the Giants’ defense that is the strength of their team. And it starts with Burns and Lawrence doing their part, which is necessary considering they are the centerpieces and the two highest-paid defensive players.
Burns is fifth in the NFL with a 26.3% winning rate, while Lawrence is redefining his position. He has 13 pressures and 11 quarterback hits from the nose tackle position. This is more than twice as much pressure as any other nose tackle.
Thibodeaux was the third piece of the puzzle. But he landed on injured reserve last weekend after fracturing the scaphoid in one of his wrists and is forced to miss at least four games.
Ojulari stepped up Sunday night and the defense didn’t miss a beat. The pressure continued to come from the top four. The Giants had seven quarterback hits on Burrow, with the first four (which include DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches) accounting for six.
“I thought our defense played really good football. … They played winning football,” coach Brian Daboll said.
Ojulari should be able to hold up in the short term. This is a player who was a 2021 second-round pick out of the University of Georgia. He had eight sacks during a promising rookie season before injuries slowed him down in recent years.
Now Ojulari is healthy. His 10 pressures on 86 pass rushes this season give him a pressure rate of 11.6%. This is higher than Burns, although in a smaller sample.
It’s still not a total surprise that Ojulari was successful Sunday night. He was patiently waiting for this opportunity. Lawrence, a defensive captain, even texted him last week, saying, “It’s your time!”
It’s up to Bowen to make it work when Thibodeaux returns. This shouldn’t be a problem. He has been successful so far and his unit has played some good football in recent weeks.
The Giants defense has not allowed more than 21 points in any game. The Giants lost 28-6 in their first game against the Minnesota Vikings, but one of those scores came on a Daniel Jones pick.
The idea was that Bowen would sit back and rely solely on his front four. But it was bombed more than expected. His blitz rate of 28.6% ranks 11th in the league through six weeks. His game plans vary depending on the opponent, which puts him off balance.
But it always starts with the Giants’ front four. The game plan is built around that, as Schoen had hoped.
“We were productive for the most part trying to influence the quarterback,” Bowen said. “We had a few sacks from other places. I think it’s a product of those four, too.”
They become the centerpiece of not only the defense, but of this Giants team.
