Matt Citak: It’s tough to come out of Sunday’s game and focus on any positives considering where the Giants are in the season. But considering how the defense has looked for most of the season, the unit’s performance against the Vikings does deserve a bit of praise, starting with the play of outside linebacker Brian Burns. The veteran put together another strong outing, coming up with two sacks and the big forced fumble, which led to Tyler Nubin’s scoop-and-score. Despite the Giants playing from behind in most of their games this season, Burns has managed to set a new career-high with 15 sacks, which has him tied for the seventh-most in a single season in franchise history. He also has 20 tackles for loss, the most by a Giant since Jason Pierre-Paul produced 23 in 2011. Burns’ 15 sacks are second in the NFL while his 20 TFL are the third-most, while both marks lead the NFC. The veteran is still playing at a high level, regardless of what the team’s record is.
“Man, his motor, he don’t stop,” defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence said of Burns after the game. “And you saw it early in camp. He’s been consistent in bringing it to the season. I praise him the most. We talk a lot, and we understand the importance of being consistent and attacking every play.”
Speaking of Lawrence, the defensive lineman is enduring a bit of a down season, as his half-sack would set a new career-low for the three-time Pro Bowler. But the 28-year-old had perhaps his best game of the season against the Vikings, coming up with a season-high six total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, as he was able to affect both J.J. McCarthy and Max Brosmer despite not coming away with a sack.
Additionally, Abdul Carter has strung together three consecutive strong performances now as the rookie registered a sack for the third straight game. Not only that, but Next Gen Stats had Carter down for six quick pressures, which was tied for the third-most by any edge defender in a game this season. NGS has the No. 3 overall pick down for 37 quick pressures on the season, which is the most by any rookie in a season since at least 2018.
Defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen displayed some aggressive playcalling at times Sunday, which did lead to some positive results. The defense blitzed the two Vikings quarterbacks 11 times, which generated nine pressures and two of the team’s sacks. The unit’s 81.8 percent pressure rate on blitzes was the second-highest by any team that blitzed at least 10 times in a game this season. Of course, the Giants still wound up losing the game, so there’s only so much to take away from the overall performance. But the 16 points allowed were the lowest the Giants surrendered in a game all season, which does deserve some credit.