The common assumption with regards to the New York Giants and their looming Week 1 game against the Washington Commanders is that they’ll have to be led by their defense.
The Giants’ offense is expected to be better than it was in 2024, but the general consensus is that they’ll need their defense to keep games close against the talented offenses they’ll face this year. That puts the onus on defensive coordinator Shane Bowen to get the most out of his defense and put them in position to play up to their (considerable) upside.
That stats week one with Jayden Daniels and confronting the challenges presented by his ability as both a passer and a runner.
On stopping the Washington offense
There are few quarterbacks in the NFL with a skillset similar to Jayden Daniels. Not only is he an electric athlete, but he’s a precision passer. He might not quite have the raw athleticism or arm strength of Lamar Jackson, but he’s able to operate at that level.
Daniels’ ability to be a true dual threat puts a tremendous amount of stress on a defense. Opposing teams have to account for the quarterback as an offensive threat on every play.
“I mean, it’s a really good offense,” Bowen said. “I think the playmakers they have, the scheme causes issues, it’s 11-on-11 football every single play. It’s a fine line.”
The Giants should have one of the most dangerous pass rushes in the NFL this year, perhaps even the league’s best pass rush. Daniels’ athleticism, however can make reckless rushing dangerous. The Giants can certainly still pressure him, but they’ll need to be disciplined in their rushes. They can’t give him easy escape routes while generating their pressure.
“We’ve got to be able to rush the guy, but we’ve got to make sure we’re coordinated, we’re all on the same page, we’re executing and not leaving big creases, easy edges for him where he can just take off and get vertical on us,” he added. “That’s the biggest thing. When he has the lane and can get vertical, he’s a tough tackle in space, tough to bring down with just one guy. So I think it just goes back to our rush coordination, making sure we’re coordinated, understanding how the guy next to me is rushing, how it all ties together where we can hopefully minimize and shrink some of those windows. Like, you rush four. There’s six gaps, right? Just by a number count, there’s going to be a couple of places where he can escape if he needs to. We just have to make sure we do a good job of constricting those spaces where it’s not inviting for him.”
The Giants are certainly cognizant of Daniels’ ability, as well as the threat posed by Terry McLaurin. Limiting Washington’s ability to generate yards on the ground, however, will be key to the Giants’ success. And while the Giants won’t have to deal with former starting RB Brian Robinson Jr. until they face the San Francisco 49ers, they will have to account for former 49er Deebo Samuel and the potential he brings as a ball carrier.
“Just his history, what he [Samuel] has done in San Fran at times, it wouldn’t surprise me,” Bowen said.
Stopping the run, whether it’s a running back or Samuel on sweeps or screens, has to be a point of emphasis. The Commanders gained a combine 364 yards on the ground last year, something the Giants can’t allow to happen again.
“I think the rookie (Jacory) Croskey-Merritt runs hard,” Bowen said. “They obviously have some confidence in him. (Austin) Ekeler has done it a long time. (Jeremy) McNichols played against us last year. So we’ll see. They have a plethora in that room of different guys. They’re all a little bit different. Obviously they feel confident in those guys enough to let Robinson walk. So I’m sure they’re going to be ready for it.”
On the expectations for the defense
Expectations aren’t high for the Giants as a whole. After all, Vegas only expects them to win six games, and there are many who are expecting fewer wins than that.
But the defense, in particular, is another story.
While the Giants were short-handed for much of the 2024 season, losing Dexter Lawrence, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Azeez Ojulari, Dru Phillips, and Tyler Nubin for stretches of the season — While Brian Burns and Bobby Okereke also dealt with injuries.
Now, however, Shane Bowen has an embarrassment of riches (as though any coach could be embarrassed by having “too many” good players). The Giants’ defense is among the most talented in the NFL on paper, and that’s leading many to set the bar for them as being a Top-10 or even Top-5 unit.
Bowen, unsurprisingly, didn’t want to talk about season-ending rankings. Instead, he says his defense is focused on being ready for Washington.
“I’m focused on today,” Bowen said. “I’m focused on getting ready for Sunday. All that stuff will take care of itself. If we can keep the focus on the opponent this week, on what we got to do out here for however many snaps we get at practice and continue to improve, continue to learn, that’s the end game. That’s the end game result for me, right? Hopefully we can continue to do the things day in and day out and approach the process the right way where hopefully we can achieve those things, but the ultimate goal is let’s make sure we focus on today and improve and do what we need to do come Sunday to find a way to be 1-0.”
But as mentioned above, Bowen is absolutely not wanting for talent. In fact, it’s just the opposite, as one of his challenges is getting all of his playmakers on the field and attacking the offense.
“It’s a good problem to have, first of all,” he said. “But as a staff, I think we sit in there and try to find
ways to put these guys in the best positions where they can have success. Again, it’s unique. They’re all
going to play, but you have three edge guys. I’m sure you’re referring to that and just how we utilize
those guys. They’ll all be in there.”
“I think that will evolve a little bit as we go, too,” he added. “One of those guys is a rookie. It’s going to be his first game, so what does that look like and where he’s at. … The matchups week to week, what are teams doing to us, what’s their scheme? That plays a part in it as well in terms of our versatility, so to speak. I think it’s going to be an evolving thing as we go kind of throughout the season. It’s a good problem to have. It’s a really good problem to have. That’s on us as a coaching staff to be creative and find ways to utilize all three of them.”
The rookie Bowen was referring to is, of course, Abdul Carter. Bowen praised not only Carter’s evident explosiveness and athleticism, but also the violence with which he plays.
Bowen also has questions as to what his secondary will look like. The Giants currently list both Cor’Dale Flott and Deonte Banks as starter at outside corner opposite Paulson Adebo.
“I know they both missed a little bit of time, but there were a lot of reps throughout. They both have done a really good job when they were out there. So I think there was enough to go off of,” he said.
There has been some speculation that the Giants will rotate the two corners or play them based on matchups. While Bowen wouldn’t commit to any specifics on how they would be used, twice saying “we’ll find out on Sunday,” as though he too doesn’t know how they’ll be deployed.
However, he did generally hint that their usage could depend on the opponent and situation.
“It’s a matchup league,” Bowen said. “It’s a matchup league. I mean, I think every week you’re trying to do that, whether it’s positionally, corner, front-wise, whatever that might be, trying to find the best matchups that work for us and put these guys in favorable positions. So, yeah, absolutely. I think week-to-week, it’s something you look at.”
Ultimately, Bowen wants the Giants’ 2025 defense to be the next in a legacy of great defenses. He harkened back to the likes of Carl Banks, Lawrence Taylor, and Michael Strahan as the foundations of great teams in the past.
“I think what Dabs did this offseason, bringing those guys in, hearing from the offensive side and the defensive players, that we had L.T. in here and a bunch of guys speak to the team, speak to the defense,” Bowen said. “Embrace it. Embrace the tradition. We want to make those guys proud of us and proud of the way we play and live up to the standard that they set here. That’s part of it. When people think of the Giants, they think of really good defense. We’re trying to do everything we can day in and day out throughout the process to get to that level and have some of the success that they had.”
