Big Blue View
The New York Giants 2025 season finally comes to an end this week when the Giants have their long-awaited rematch against the Dallas Cowboys.
The last time these two teams met, Russell Wilson had (arguably) the finest game of his career, quarterbacking an offensive explosion which should have been enough for the Giants to beat their division rivals.
Unfortunately, Shane Bowen’s defense was unable to slow the Cowboys’ offense when it mattered most. They couldn’t get off the field on fourth-and-3 just before the two-minute warning to prevent Dallas from going ahead with 48 seconds remaining, nor could they stop the Cowboys from getting in position to tie the game after Russell Wilson’s go-ahead touchdown with 19 seconds remaining in the game.
It became a familiar patter for the Giants, with an undermanned offense putting the team in position for an upset victory, only for an undisciplined defense to fold in the clutch.
The Giants placed Kayvon Thibodeaux on injured reserve and the defensive secondary has been beat up for most of the season. That, of course, doesn’t bode well against the team that’s fifth in passing touchdowns, fourth in total points scored, second in offensive EPA and first in total yardage.
Can the Giants’ defense match up against the Cowboys’ prolific offense?
There has been one significant change for the Giants’ defense since the last time these two teams met: The firing of head coach Brian Daboll — and with him (eventually) defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.
The Giants have suffered from a lack of discipline on the defensive side of the ball all year long, dating back to the preseason. Missed assignments, players out of position, and poor technique have played the defense throughout the season. The result of the sloppiness has been the Giants playing dominant football for stretches, only for the defense to shatter and fail when the margin for error runs out.
When Daboll was fired — and Bowen a couple weeks later — we learned that there was little accountability and discipline demanded of the players. That was most evident in Abdul Carter, who was benched twice by interim head coach Mike Kafka, but also helped to explain why so many players either failed to consistently play up to their potential or regress from previously strong play.
Kafka and new defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen have re-emphasized discipline, accountability, and fundamentals.
There wasn’t much to sho for it initially, with the Giants once again giving up fourth quarter leads to the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions. But we also shouldn’t expect poor habits built over a year and a half to be undone by a few practices in the middle of the season.
We mgiht finally be seeing some dividends, and the Giants’ defense has shown remarkable improvement over the last three weeks. It’s a small sample size, but the Giants have been seventh in points allowed and fifth in run defense over that span.
That’s borne...
