If the offseason taught us anything, it's that patience truly is a virtue.
It feels like I’ve been waiting for years for the new league year to start. This has been one of the most highly anticipated seasons I can remember as a New York Giants fan, and a lot of that excitement centered around what looked like an absolutely ridiculous pass rush on paper.
Brian Burns. Abdul Carter. Kayvon Thibodeaux. Even after trading Dexter Lawrence, the Giants seemingly had enough talent coming off the edge to make life downright miserable for opposing quarterbacks. It’s been the calling card of their defense over the past couple of seasons, but even that hasn’t been enough to stop all the losing.
So, naturally, they finally pulled out a 28-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night behind a staunch run defense while their pass rush was almost nonexistent.
Unfortunately, much like we had to wait 252 days to watch the G-Men take the field again, we’ll have to wait at least another week to see if this perceived-elite pass rush can finally break through on Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams.
Dennard Wilson’s Giants defense won without its biggest strength
You certainly won't be blown away by the boxscore. New York finished with zero sacks, one tackle for loss, three QB hits, and 11 pressures. Burns, Carter, and Thibodeaux combined for just seven tackles, zero sacks, and two QB hits. Yet somehow, it really didn’t matter.
Dallas finished with 244 total yards and averaged just 3.8 yards per carry. Dak Prescott threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns. He was also picked off by Jevón Holland. And the Cowboys didn’t have a single offensive play go for more than 17 yards all night.
Here’s where new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson deserves some love. Wilson isn’t necessarily known as a blitz guy, and according to Next Gen Stats, he blitzed on just 21.2% of the defensive snaps (12th-lowest among defensive play callers in Week 1).
The G-Men didn’t need Burns, Carter, and Thibodeaux putting Prescott in the turf to keep Dallas from doing much of anything. The secondary -- his coaching specialty -- did enough without the DC having to wrecklessly send the house, while linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and Arvell Reese helped keep the Cowboys’ rushing attack in check.
It’s only been one game, so it's important to keep a level head, but it's hard not to get excited about what this team can do once everything clicks.
New York just held Dallas to 20 points without recording a sack. If that's happening -- while the scariest part of the defense is still waiting to show up -- Wilson could have something pretty special on his hands. Now we just have to wait for the pass rush to join the party. What better time to show up than against the Rams on MNF?
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