The bone-jarring hits live in Giants’ lore.
Jim Burt running over Joe Montana to create a pick-six within the 1986 NFL playoffs. Leonard Marshall coming across the blind side to drill Montana 4 years later. Jay Alford lifting Tom Brady off his feet on the ultimate drive of Super Bowl XLII in 2007. Justin Tuck spinning Brady to the turf for a security in Super Bowl XLVI in 2011.
Oh, and guys named Lawrence Taylor, Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora did plenty to determine the Giants’ blueprint for winning within the playoffs, too.
“Due to legends that got here through, it’s an honor to play here,” edge-rusher Azeez Ojulari said. “Seeing them around here, you’ve gotten to play hard.”
Who’s next to crunch a quarterback? The Giants have the pass rushers to wreck games, defensive coordinator Wink Martindale dialing up disguised schemes to send free rushers on the quarterback, and an opponent Sunday within the Vikings with three offensive linemen on injured reserve, including starting right tackle Brian O’Neill.
“From the day we put together what we were hoping to construct on defense, it was that aggressive mentality,” outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins said. “We’re going to dictate to the offense, not the opposite way around. Every player getting off the bus knows, ‘We’re the Recent York Giants and we’re going to go hit you within the mouth.’ It’s been good to us, and we’re going to maintain with that approach.”
Ojulari, rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux, Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence combined for 19.5 sacks within the regular season. It’s not a dominant number, but perspective is required: The quartet played fewer than 60 snaps together over the course of 17 games due to injuries to Thibodeaux, Williams and Ojulari. Now, it’s pick-your-poison time.
“I feel that’s a top-five defensive position within the league,” Giants’ All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas said. “I’m glad we don’t should block them now because Dex is ridiculous in the center after which you’ve gotten those edge guys coming on. The largest key’s having all of them on the sector at the identical time: Someone goes to win [his matchup].”
Thomas is just not alone.
“I’m grateful we don’t should play against them,” said quarterback Daniel Jones, who was sacked 44 times.
Lawrence and Williams enjoy playing side-by-side a lot that they recognized an urgency before the season.
“If we would like to remain together,” Lawrence told Williams, “we now have to play well, and we now have to win.”
Some coordinators with those 4 high draft picks up front would drop extra bodies into coverage against the explosive pass-catching trio of Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen and T.J. Hockenson. Not Martindale, who called the very best percentage of blitzes (39.7 percent) within the league and vowed not to alter his ways simply because the Vikings capitalized on a few late blitz-beater passes to top the Giants on Christmas Eve.
“Whether it’s a division team or a team we played twice, Wink all the time wants to point out one look after which show the counterpunch off that look the subsequent week,” Wilkins said. “It is perhaps, ‘Hey, it’s great that we ran these pressures that worked last time, but here’s the thing that would also give them problems that they may not expect.’ The fantastic thing about this thing with Wink is we will not be confined to, ‘Here’s what we did last time.’ ”
Lawrence had seven quarterback pressures against backup center Austin Schlottmann within the last matchup. With starter Garrett Bradbury back to challenge Lawrence, it could fall to the sides to attack right tackle Oli Udoh in his second start of the season. Ojulari totaled 5.5 sacks in only seven games and Thibodeaux made two of the most important plays of the season — strip sacks against the Ravens and Commanders.
“It is a selfless group,” Williams said. “There’s numerous times in certain packages or pressures where you only know the play is just not designed for you, but at the identical time that you’ve gotten to do your job for it to work for another person.”
The pass rush must have more time to get to quarterback Kirk Cousins, too, given the returns of cornerback Adoree’ Jackson from a seven-game absence and safety Xavier McKinney (one game played since Halloween) should mean tighter coverage.
“Obviously they create numerous pressure, they usually make our jobs super easy,” McKinney said. “We all know they’re going to do their job and do it rather well, so we just should do ours.”
Strahan recently filmed a promotional video for the Giants’ “Our Way” playoff slogan. The Giants’ Way includes pass rushers dominating the playoffs.
“They make every little thing go,” center Jon Feliciano said. “Defense wins championships, I hear. I feel our defense is as much as that caliber.”