The New York Giants have had awful luck when it came to injuries this season. While Jaxson Dart suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 2 was brutal, the defense was hit hard as well. In Week 3, pass rusher Brian Burns suffered a season-ending knee injury of his own. Then, in the days prior to the Giants' Week 7 game against the Houston Texans, middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds was ruled out for the rest of the season due to a torn chest muscle.
With Burns and Edmunds out, the Giants were without two of their captains and leaders on defense. But one player has stepped up into the leadership role, and that's defensive lineman Abdul Carter.
After the Giants' 27-21 overtime win, head coach John Harbaugh revealed to reporters that during halftime, with the game tied 14-14, Carter gave a speech to the players. The message of that speech was for his teammates to "empty the tank."
Abdul Carter tells Giants to 'empty the tank' during halftime speech vs. Texans
The fact that Carter, a second year player, stepped up to motivate the Giants is something that fans will love hearing.
Last season was a roller coaster of a rookie season for Carter. He was disciplined twice by Brian Daboll for missing or being late to meetings. But in the second half of the 2025 season, Carter showed his potential as a dangerous pass rusher in the NFL.
That message resonated with the Giants. While the defense did surrender a game-tying touchdown on Houston's final drive of regulation, they held their own for the most part. On the previous three drives, the Giants defense forced the Texans to punt. Also, there was the three-and-out forced in overtime, with Carter recording a timely pressure on third-and-10 to force an incompletion from C.J. Stroud.
On the following drive in overtime, the Giants won the game after Cam Skattebo literally emptied the tank on a 42-yard run, which set up Devin Singletary's 30-yard touchdown run.
Giants defenders are stepping up despite injuries
The Giants needed players to step up. Carter has stepped up with Burns out. While he may not have recorded a sack against the Texans, he was once again placing pressure on the offensive line and Stroud. As NBC Sports Philadelphia's Ryan Fowler brings up, Carter recorded eight pressures against Houston.
Edmunds' season-ending injury was a huge one, not only because he was the starting middle lienbacker, but also because he had the green dot on his helmet to relay plays to his teammates. That meant that Micah McFadden needed to step up as the starter, and he did a good job in Houston. Playing the entirety of the game, McFadden recorded 10 solo tackles, two tackles for loss, and one quarterback hit. Giants fans have seen glimpses of promise from McFadden throughout his tenure with the team, but he was bitten by the injury bug quite a bit. But when he was called upon for Sunday, he stepped up.
After plenty of losing throughout the past decade, the standards of the Giants have changed with Harbaugh in charge. This is a team that's expected to win every week, no matter who is playing. Injuries to the likes of Burns and Edmunds would sink other teams. Yet, these Giants aren't letting it deter them.
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