The New York Giants began a new era under head coach John Harbaugh, with the hoep that he can turn the franchise's luck around. The Giants dealt with a bit more adversity that they had anticipated encountering. First, quarterback Jaxson Dart suffered multiple ligament tears in his left knee and is done for the year. That was in Week 2. Then, in Week 3, the Giants watched one of their best players on defense suffer a season-ended injury. Brian Burns, who suffered an ankle sprain against the Los Angeles Rams, suffered a season-ending knee injury late in the Giants' 12-7 win over the Tennessee Titans. It was a determined that Burns was dealing with both a torn ACL and a torn meniscus.
With Burns out for the year, the Giants desperately needed their other top pass rushers to step up in his absence. That meant from Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux, both first-round picks by the Giants, needed to put pressure on the opposing quarterback, which they haven't for the most part this season.
Let's just say that in Week 4 against the Arizona Cardinals, Carter heeded the call.
Abdul Carter has insane game at Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett's expense
When you look at the stat sheet, you'll see that Carter didn't record a sack. As always, sacks don't tell the story when it comes to the pass rush.
Carter was an athlete unleashed on Sunday against the Cardinals, and he made the game miserable for quarterback Jacoby Brissett. Carter logged three quarterback hits, and some of them arrived in crucial situations late in the game. But there's much more that shows how much of a monstrous game Carter had.
According to Next Gen Stats, Carter recorded nine quarterback pressures. Eight of those quarterback pressures arrived in less than 2.5 seconds. Oh, and no other Giants player generated more than two pressures in the game.
But wait, there is more. ESPN NFL analyst Seth Walder revealed that Carter had 14 pass rush wins, which is the most recorded by a player in a game this season.
This is the kind of performance the Giants needed. Burns was one of their stars on the defensive line, and losing him for the rest of the season was huge. If any team could overcome the loss of Burns, it was the Giants given their surplus of pass rushers. Carter was the best of the bunch, and he stepped up big time.
Giants figured out their mode of attack on defense
While plenty of credit is being given to players like Carter, linebacker Arvell Reese, and cornerback Deonte Banks, it should also be given to defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson.
At the start of the game, it looked like the Giants were in for a long game, as they allowed rushing touchdowns to Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier. But then, Wilson figured out how to put an end to the productive Arizona offense, and that was by blitzing.
As Pat Leonard of New York Daily News pointed out, via Next Gen Stats, the Giants had a 28.2 percent quarterback pressure rate and a 32.8 percent blitz rate. Against the Cardinals, the Giants blitzed Brissett on 53.8 percent of his dropbacks and pressured him on 38.5 percent of his throws.
This may very well be the key strategy for the Giants defense moving forward. Even without Burns, they still have the talent to effectively put pressure on the opposing quarterback and end any chance of them moving down the field to get into points-scoring range.
This group will now have to prepare for next week, when they take on the Washington Commanders, who are expected to have Jayden Daniels back starting at quarterback, who is recovering from a dislocated elbow. We'll see if the Giants and Carter can put pressure on him in that game.
If Carter has a similar game against Washington like he had against Arizona, New York's chances of winning should increase.
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