Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns couldn’t believe it.
The pass rushers knew they’d delivered a dominant effort in the Giants’ 21-18 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, but even they were surprised by how many quarterback pressures they, along with rookie Abdul Carter, had combined for.
“Twenty?” Thibodeaux repeated after learning the total. “Twenty?!”
Indeed, Carter finished with eight pressures on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, while Thibodeaux and Burns totaled six apiece.
Thibodeaux and Burns both recorded a sack, while Carter forced Herbert into an intentional grounding penalty.
It was these types of overpowering performances the Giants (1-3) envisioned when they drafted Carter with the No. 3 overall pick in April to pair him with Thibodeaux, Burns and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
“We feed off each other,” Carter said. “Whoever is hot, whoever is bringing the energy, we all try to feed off that and keep bringing the energy all together.”
That fearsome defensive front stepped up on an afternoon Giants rookie Jaxson Dart made his first start at quarterback and star wide receiver Malik Nabers was carted off the field with a knee injury.
Lawrence came away with the first interception of his seven-year career when he tipped a first-quarter pass by Herbert to himself and returned it to the Chargers’ 3-yard line.
“I thought I was going to score,” Lawrence said. “I knew he was going to go low, but I couldn’t catch my feet quick enough.”
In the third quarter, with Burns bearing down on him, Herbert threw another interception, this time to cornerback Andru Phillips, who also returned it to the 3-yard line.
Those turnovers turned into 10 of the Giants’ points.
“It’s competition, man, especially in our room,” Thibodeaux said. “All of us want to be great. Burns has got his goals. I’ve got mine. [Carter is] trying to make a name for himself in this league, so competition is what’s breeding this excellence.”
Through three games, the Giants defense ranked second-to-last in passing yards allowed per game (270.0). Herbert, meanwhile, led NFL quarterbacks with 286.7 passing yards per game.
But the Giants limited Herbert to 23-of-41 passing for 203 yards, a touchdown and the two interceptions.
Clinging to a three-point lead, the Giants held the Chargers (3-1) scoreless in the fourth quarter, during which Los Angeles came up empty on three drives. The second of those drives ended with a Burns sack on 3rd and 9, forcing a punt with 3:03 left in the game.
“We changed it up a little bit,” Burns said. “Abdul got a lot more rushes on the edge. I was inside a lot more, roaming around. It was a different look, but it was successful.”
The Giants took advantage of a Chargers offensive line that was without tackle Rashawn Slater due to a season-ending knee injury and guard Mekhi Becton because of a concussion.
Los Angeles then lost tackle Joe Alt to an ankle injury in the first quarter.
“I’m not here for moral victories,” Burns said. “But at the same time, we did what we’re supposed to do today.”
The Giants are built to close out fourth quarters with their pass rush, but in two of their first three games, they trailed in the fourth quarter.
In the one they didn’t — an overtime loss in Dallas in Week 2 – the Giants allowed the Cowboys to march into range for a game-tying field goal in the fourth quarter’s final 25 seconds.
But on Sunday, the Giants made the necessary defensive stops — just like they drew it up.
“We ask to be on the field when it matters most, and this week, we just took advantage,” Lawrence said. “The whole game, we were on each other, speaking through the game about situational awareness and understanding what plays need to be made.”
