Who finished Week 7 with two tackles, zero sacks, zero tackles for loss, and got completely erased by Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas? That would be Denver Broncos pass rusher Nik Bonitto. The league’s sack leader coming into Sunday did anything but get after rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, giving him more than enough energy to get those fingers working after the game.
Related: Giants fans just crowned Nik Bonitto their newest villain after deleted post
The 26-year-old took to social media after the game, likely to deflect from his no-show performance against the very team and fan base he called “delusional” earlier in the week. His since-deleted postgame post didn’t go after Thomas (who stuffed him in a locker) — instead, he took shots at Giants linebackers Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
Nothing like getting blanked on the stat sheet and then hopping online to hit send on this:
"5 and 51 left so fast I couldn't find em after the game #delusional"Nik Bonitto
The only one sounding delusional here is the fourth-year pass rusher. Yes, the Giants collapsed in spectacular fashion, blowing an 18-point lead late in the fourth to lose 33-32. But to act like Bonitto had anything to do with it is a serious stretch.
Nik Bonitto stays fixated on Giants after being erased by Andrew Thomas
This wasn’t some random matchup that Bonitto floated through unnoticed — this was the most hyped one-on-one of the game. The NFL’s sack leader lining up against one of the league’s best left tackles. It was supposed to be a measuring stick. Instead, it turned into a highlight reel for No. 78.
After getting shut down by Thomas, Bonitto switched sides and tried his luck against Jermaine Eluemunor. That didn’t go anywhere either.
Thomas, on the other hand, looked like the version of himself we haven’t seen consistently since the injuries started piling up. He entered the game with just two pressures allowed on 130 pass-blocking snaps and somehow came out of Sunday even more locked in. On top of keeping Bonitto metaphorically quiet, he completely cleared out the left side for Tyrone Tracy Jr.’s 31-yard touchdown run.
It was about as complete a performance as you’re going to get at the position.
So when Bonitto went online after the game and took shots at Carter and Thibodeaux, it felt like some not-so-subtle deflection. He had 16 pass rushes and finished with a 6.3 percent pressure rate. Nothing about that screams social media post.
Funny enough, Brian Burns' two sacks on Sunday actually put him in first place among the league's sack leaders, but can't get too excited about it... might come off too delusional. But not as delusional as posting several jabs at the G-Men and then deleting them?
The fixation on the Giants and their fans is getting weird. Are we excited about the future? Sure. Are we a little delusional? Maybe. But if that’s what helps him cope with getting shut down, that’s fine. Just don’t act like nobody noticed.