3 NY Giants defenders acquired by GM Dave Gettleman were instrumental in Sunday’s 20-19 win over the Washington Football Team
NY Giants General manager Dave Gettleman certainly deserves the lion’s share of blame for the current state of the franchise and its 1-5 start, but on Sunday it was three of Gettleman’s biggest additions to the defense over the past two offseasons that delivered a 20-19 win over the Washington Football Team.
With the offense once again grounded, as quarterback Daniel Jones was held to 112 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception, it was the Giants defense that powered Sunday’s victory, the first of new head coach Joe Judge’s tenure.
Outside linebacker Kyler Fackrell made the biggest play of the season, when he sacked Washington quarterback Kyle Allen, and forced a fumble that rookie Tae Crowder scooped and returned for a 43-yard touchdown to put the Giants ahead for good.
“Any time you can come out there and get a forced fumble and then get a touchdown,” Giants cornerback James Bradberry said. “Any time your defense can score, it’s a big momentum swing for your whole team. We needed that at the moment. I’m glad that we made that play.”
The Giants have a long way to go, and Gettleman has had more than his share of missteps as general manager, but it was three defensive players acquired by Gettleman who proved instrumental in Sunday’s victory.
Here’s a chronological rundown of how three of Gettleman’s marquee pickups on defense; cornerback James Bradberry, linebacker Kyler Fackrell, and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence powered the Giants in Sunday’s win:
CB James Bradberry – 2:31 remaining in the 1st Quarter
Each game it seems cornerback James Bradberry continues to solidify his standing as the Giants’ best defensive player, and the most impactful free agent signing in Gettleman’s tenure.
Sunday, with 2:31 remaining in the first quarter, Washington quarterback Kyle Allen seemed to misread the Giants’ coverage and threw it directly at Bradberry, who pulled down his second interception of the season.
Even Bradberry seemed surprised Allen fired the ball right at him.
“I was surprised,” Bradberry admitted. “I just wanted to make sure I didn’t drop it. That’s kind of why I double caught it. We were in a cover three zone and pretty much took my drop and I was in the right place at the right time.”
The Giants converted Bradberry’s interception into a touchdown when Daniel Jones hit Darius Slayton for a beautifully placed 23-yard touchdown, the Giants’ only offensive touchdown of the game.
Bradberry has been instrumental to the Giants’ success this season, but his interception wasn’t his only pivotal moment on Sunday …
LB Kyler Fackrell – 3:41 remaining in 4th Quarter
Fackrell, signed by the Giants early in free agency with the hope he’d give a mediocre pass rush a boost was instrumental in what became the game-winning touchdown in Judge’s first victory.
With 3:41 remaining in the fourth quarter and Washington facing a 3rd down and 9, Graham dialed up on of the few blitzes of the game, Fackrell burst up the middle as the pocket started to collapse around Allen, sacked Washington’s quarterback and forced a fumble that rookie Tae Crowder returned for a 43-yard touchdown.
“It was a nice job of the guys putting pressure on it,” Judge said. “We’ve been preaching for a while to keep the pressure on the quarterback and turnovers will come. They did today.”
Fackrell’s forced fumble comes one week after the veteran linebacker intercepted Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and returned it for a touchdown. Through the first six weeks, Fackrell has been instrumental on a pair of defensive touchdowns, for comparison’s sake, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has just three touchdown passes so far this season.
DT Dexter Lawrence – :36 remaining in 4th Quarter
The jubilation from Fackrell’s forced fumble that Crowder returned for a touchdown to put the Giants up 20-13 quickly turned to angst and trepidation before Lawrence finally delivered a sigh of relief heard ’round the Garden State.
Allen orchestrated a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to perfection before “Riverboat” Ron Rivera lived up to his nickname by going for the two-point conversion and the road win with :36 remaining.
Giants defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence had other ideas.
Lawrence, 342 pounds of him, sprinted toward the sideline in lateral pursuit of Allen as the Washington quarterback tried to buy time for one of his receivers to break open in the end zone before Lawrence zagged on a dime and made a b-line for Allen with his arms in the air to disrupt the pass that fell harmlessly to the turf.
” I mean, that was a big play,” Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams said. “Someone that big, I’d be kind of hesitant to take a hit from, a guy like that. It got the ball off of him and he didn’t have enough time to find an open receiver. He and [LB] Blake [Martinez] hit him pretty hard, so it was nice.”
Through his first 23 career games, Lawrence has been one of the most disruptive players on the Giants’ defense and arguably the best pick in Gettleman’s three drafts. Sunday, Lawrence’s pass breakup on the two-point conversion might have been his most impressive — and important play yet.
It was also a brand new play, installed during practice last week, that along with Lawrence it was Bradberry who played a key role by locking down his man.
“It was a new play, but it was similar to another play that we had,” Bradberry explained.” For me, my job, it was easy to learn so it wasn’t difficult for me. We have smart guys on our defense. Anytime the coaches come in and give us a new play, something to install, I would say it’s later in the week, I feel like we can obtain it and be able to adjust and execute.”
Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.