Dexter Lawrence, still seething from Sunday’s loss, was ready to go. If he could, the standout defensive tackle would’ve played the Browns on Wednesday.
He didn’t need any more time to stew over the 0-2 start.
“Personally, I’m pissed because I hate losing with a passion,” he said. “I take that hard, losing. I really don’t like it.
“For me, it’s just something that I’m not going to keep accepting. I want to see this team grow and be as good as we [look] throughout the week in practice. It’s just that one day. That Sunday or that Thursday or whatever day. We’ve got to show up.”
He was talking about everyone in blue, but the defense is the side of the ball he can help control, and Sunday’s effort was not good enough.
The Giants couldn’t get off the field, allowing a whopping 425 yards of total offense to the Commanders. While they did well in the red zone — Washington failed to score a touchdown in six trips — it wasn’t nearly enough to offset the other issues.
Whether it was yielding 215 rushing yards, allowing the Commanders to convert 7 of 14 third downs that led to a massive disparity in time of possession (37:32 to 22:28) or failing to produce a turnover, the Giants know they have to be much better.
The Commanders, who are far from some offensive juggernaut, scored on every single one of their drives besides a kneel-down before halftime.
“I think our attention to detail, especially on defense, wasn’t up to par,” linebacker Bobby Okereke said. “Just the fundamentals and techniques of our job — eyes, hands, feet. … It’s execution, really. Third-and-long situations, expecting how they’re going to attack us, whether it’s screens, one-on-one matchups, really having an extra heightened sense of focus on third down to get off the field and set our offense up with good field position.”
Improving their tackling might be the biggest issue right now. They were sloppy in that regard against the Commanders.
Part of that is communication and some of it is just finishing off plays better.
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“Early in the season that can be a problem, you’re not really tackling when you’re practicing against your own guys a lot. Once it becomes real, these guys are fighting for every yard they can get,” linebacker Micah McFadden said. “It’s obviously an individual looking inwards, and making sure you’re doing your own job, but on top of that everybody running to the football and making sure you have everybody’s back if there is a missed tackle out there.”
Multiple veterans on the defense have already spoken out.
After Sunday’s loss, Brian Burns was critical of the Giants’ inability to close out the victory, saying the team’s “competitive stamina needs to heighten” and “when you shoot yourself in the foot, you’re f—ing yourself.”
Lawrence has now expressed similar dissatisfaction. Okereke sees this as a positive development.
“That’s a call to everybody,” Okereke said. “Really check yourself, make sure your insanity in practice, your intensity in meetings, is at our standard because we have a standard that we’re trying to uphold here.”
Lawrence and Okereke believe the defense will take a step forward this week. They see their teammates with a similar sense of urgency, attacking meetings and practices the right way.
But the Giants know they also have to get this right on the field when it counts. They can talk about it plenty.
“We’ve just got to show up on Sunday — that’s the biggest message,” Lawrence said. “Build that confidence throughout the week to show up on Sunday.”
