New York Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen addressed the mid-game switch from starting nickel cornerback Dru Phillips to Nic Jones in Week 11 against the Green Bay Packers, confirming it was a reward for Jones’ preparation rather than a demotion of Phillips.
“Felt like Nic earned the right to play a little bit, right?” Bowen said Thursday. “He’s out here working; he’s done a really good job. We got him in there, felt confident in his ability to go in there and play. And I would say he earned the right to play. So, getting him out there was good, seeing him make the big play on third-and-2 was good. So, we’ll kind of see where that goes.”
When asked why Jones didn’t simply start if he had earned it, Bowen doubled down on his belief in Phillips.
“Because I have confidence in Dru,” he said. “I have confidence in Dru to go out there and do all those things as our starting nickel, just trying to get him some time.”
Phillips, meanwhile, has emphatically denied being benched.
“It’s a rotation,” Phillips told the New York Daily News, noting that he must reduce his penalties. “I didn’t get benched.”
Bowen emphasized the decision was “more about Nic than anything else” and that the nickel spot will remain fluid.
“I think week to week, it’s just something we look at. Again, just felt like Nic earned the opportunity to go play,” he said.
The competition at nickel could intensify heading into Sunday’s matchup against one of the league’s most creative offenses, the Detroit Lions.