The New York Giants have started the season 0-3, and that, unfortunately, isn’t surprising. The Giants have also benched Russell Wilson, and are officially planning to start the Jaxson Dart era in Week 4. That isn’t surprising either. While there isn’t much about New York’s slow start that has caught people off guard, there is one thing that no one saw coming: the Giants’ defensive line isn’t doing a great job of getting quarterbacks on the ground.
Jordan Raanan pointed this out in ESPN’s latest power rankings, where each team reporter named the biggest issue on defense for their respective squads. For New York, who was ranked No. 30, Raanan explained that the team doesn’t have enough sacks.
Giants’ promising defensive line isn’t meeting expectations yet
New York used the third-overall pick in the 2025 Draft on edge defender Abdul Carter, adding him to a defensive line with Dexter Lawrence II, Brian Burns, and Kayvon Thibodeaux. With that collection of talent up front, the Giants were expected to petrify offenses by dominating them in the trenches. That hasn’t quite been the case yet.
"It's easy to sit there and talk about the Giants' run defense, which ranks 31st in the league. But the pass rush is supposed to be the strength of this team. The Giants are getting pressure, but they're averaging a sack on 5.9% of opponent dropbacks, ranking 20th in the league. That's not good enough."Jordan Raanan (ESPN)
As Raanan highlights, New York is generating pressure, but they aren’t finishing the job. Pressure is great and, in some cases, can be just as detrimental as a sack, but that hasn’t been the reality for the Giants this season. The defensive line hasn’t met expectations yet, and while the group isn’t New York’s biggest issue, the underperformance is part of the reason why the team is 0-3.
Moving forward, the defense has to be better, and that all starts with the defensive line getting after quarterbacks. If the d-line can turn up the heat and get quarterbacks on the ground, the Giants could start winning games.