Giants’ pass rush (finally) comes through in narrow win over Browns

CLEVELAND — As reporters circled around Brian Burns in the visitor's locker room after the Giants ' 21-15 win over the Browns Sunday, a surprise guest entered the scrum and insisted he ask the first two questions.

It was fellow edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux .

"So, Brian Burns, how does it feel to start off the season slow, and then do what you did today?"

"The fans thought you sucked, and now they think you're great, what do you have to say about that?" Thibodeaux asked with a wry smirk, to which Burns responded with "One day at a time, man."

He may have been joking, but Thibodeaux's summation was spot on. The Giants' pass rush, led by Burns, who received a huge extension after he was traded to the team earlier this year, was a massive disappointment the first two games of 2024.

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They graded out high — the Giants had the sixth best pass rush rating entering the day, according to Pro Football Focus — but Thibodeaux and Burns were held sackless through the first two games, which is unacceptable after the front office invested so much in the unit this offseason.

The tide shifted in Sunday's win. The Giants sacked Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson eight times for 48 yards lost and had a staggering 19 quarterback pressures and four hits in the game. Burns and Thibodeaux combined for 1.5 sacks, six tackles, one tackle for loss and four QB hits.

What changed this week? A blitz-heavy gameplan — the Giants blitzed 51% of the time against Cleveland — and the fact that the Malik Nabers -led offense actually maintained their lead.

The result: Complementary football.

"Yeah, it was great," coach Brian Daboll said of the pass rush success. "It was pressure too. And again, when you look at it, how is the game being played? Their team is down 21-7, so you get to a ceratin point and there's more passes, things like that. That helps too. It's not just the pass rush, it's how you play the game complementary style."

Sunday's performance was especially relieving for Burns, who was acquired to shore up the pass rush and alleviate pressure on the young Giants secondary, but looked like a bust in the first two games.

When asked about Burns' strong outing, defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence said it was a long time coming.

"Two games late, but perfect timing," Lawrence told NJ Advance Media (with a laugh) when asked about Burns. "I'm excited to keep growing with him and keep this train going."

Now comes the hard part for the Giants defense, who will face a motivated Cowboys team in just four days. Will they lay a dud like they did in the first two weeks? Or can they ride the high of Sunday's win and help give their team a .500 record. Burns seems determined to make sure the latter happens.

"We needed that going into this short week going against a division opponent," Burns said. "Now all the focus is on Dallas."