Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen fell on the sword and told his own players that he should have made a better play call on the key breakdown of Sunday’s collapse at Dallas.
“I gotta be better,” Bowen said Thursday. “It’s tough. All of us are accountable to everything. Obviously, I’m accountable to that call. I told them, ‘I wish I would have been a little bit tighter, made a little bit of different call for you guys and put you in a better situation.’”
The “call” was Bowen’s decision to go with soft quarters coverage on 2nd and 10 from the Dallas 33-yard line with 14 seconds remaining in regulation and the Giants up, 37-34.
Everyone in America knew that Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey basically would be within range anywhere under 70 yards. And the Giants were instructed to prevent the ball from reaching the 50-yard line.
But Prescott and Ferguson had no issue getting their route or the ball to the Giants’ 49-yard line with roving middle linebacker Bobby Okereke and dropping safety Dane Belton playing Bowen’s loose zone coverage.
The Giants had a 90% chance to win the game before Prescott snapped the ball. That dropped to a 41% chance after Aubrey bombed his 64-yarder to send the game to overtime. And the Giants lost in OT after a Russell Wilson interception and another late defensive failure.
“Any call you make that doesn’t work, you second-guess it,” Bowen said.
The Giants’ 0-2 start now turns up the heat on everyone from Joe Schoen to Brian Daboll on down. People will start to lose their jobs if this team doesn’t win soon.
Bowen always was the most likely first scapegoat of 2025 if the franchise continued going south, and the second-year defensive coordinator acknowledged the pressure he is under Sunday night against the Chiefs (0-2).
“I feel pressure to do my job,” Bowen said. “I’m here for the guys. I’m in charge of that group. Between me, the defensive staff, the players, we’ve got things we’ve go to fix. We understand that. We’re working hard to find solutions, to make adjustments where needed.
“But ultimately it comes down to everybody doing their job,” he added. “Do your job a little bit better, a little bit more consistently, and hopefully we can take some strides here and win — find a way to win.”
Finding a way means learning from their errors against the Cowboys, including struggles on critical third and fourth downs, in the red zone and against Dallas’ downfield play action concepts.
Bowen felt like the Giants gave up too many yards underneath while backing up trying to defense Prescott’s deep shots.
The Giants also allowed 24 points on drives when they committed a penalty against Dallas, Bowen said. So cleaning up the pass interference and roughing the passer penalties is imperative.
“Explosive plays and penalties are where offenses thrive scoring points,” Bowen said.
Ultimately, Bowen stressed that everyone in the Giants’ building needs to band together and support each other when times get this tough.
“You’ve got to be able to have each other’s backs,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure for us as a coaching staff, as a defensive unit, as a team that we’re in this thing together. And we’re gonna keep working, and we all have trust that we’re gonna find ways to improve so we can win.”
But Bowen’s tone demonstrated that he knows he messed up against Dallas and that his job security will be jeopardy if he can’t figure this out.
THOMAS TAKING ‘A LOT’ OF REPS
Daboll said left tackle Andrew Thomas (right foot) took “a lot” of reps Wednesday, and the plan was to do the same on Thursday despite listing Thomas as limited for a second straight day. The coach said Thomas’ game status would go all the way up to Friday afternoon but noted that Thomas felt good after the increased Wednesday workload.
The Giants haven’t practiced in pads this week, but Daboll implied Thomas could make his season debut without logging a padded practice.
“He’s played a lot of football,” the coach said.
The only change to Thursday’s Giants injury report was an upgrade of linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (calf) to limited. Linebacker Darius Muasau (concussion/eye) and defensive lineman Chauncey Golston (ankle) did not participate for a second straight day.
And several Giants remained limited along with Thomas: returner Gunner Olszewski (back), defensive lineman Rakeem Nuñez-Roches Sr. (foot), wideout Wan’Dale Robinson (foot), guard Jon Runyan (back), center John Michael Schmitz (toe), wideout Darius Slayton (groin/calf) and running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (calf).
The Chiefs, meanwhile, upgraded offensive tackle Josh Simmons (illness) and wideout Jalen Royals (knee) to full participation and downgraded tackle Jawaan Taylor (knee/ankle) to limited).
Defensive end Mike Danna (quad) and corner Kristian Fulton (ankle) did not participate, and wide receiver Xavier Worthy (shoulder) remained limited.
