This was the way the throwback Giants used to do it, season on the line — in this case much too early — and the opposing quarterback under siege and eaten alive by hungry predators who would refuse to leave the home stadium without saving the season first.
Once upon a time it was Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick sending Lawrence Taylor to bury the quarterback, or Steve Spagnuolo barking the same instructions to Michael Strahan and Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora. On this autumn afternoon, it was swaggerlicious genius Wink Martindale unleashing Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux and Leonard Williams at Sam Howell (22-for-42, 249 yards, 1 INT) with help from his array of deadly blitzers.
“We’re just a pack of wolves,” Bobby Okereke told The Post.
Hold the obituary.
And bring on the Jets.
Sterling Shepard muffed a punt, Thibodeaux dropped what would have been a 19-yard pick-six and Saquon Barkley lost a fumble for the second time in 1,291 carries, and the defense historically and affectionately known as Big Blue would not relinquish a 14-0 halftime lead or the franchise’s desperate grip on what is now a 2-5 season.
It was on the second play of the third quarter that epitomized this Giants defense, when Lawrence and Thibodeaux and Leonard Williams all met at the quarterback, and after five first-half sacks, the sixth was credited to Lawrence (2 sacks) and Thibodeaux (1.5 sacks).
“We’re just building a monster,” Lawrence said.
Rising Monsters of the Meadowlands, and he is the biggest Giant of them all.
“We knew we could eat this game,” Xavier McKinney said, “and the guys up front did. I think we just got a helluva front, and we got a helluva play-caller behind it, so when you get both of those, it’s hard to not get sacked against big guys like Dex and Leo [Leonard Williams] and Kayvon and all them guys.”
I asked Lawrence if he said anything to his men before the game.
“We got something to prove, let’s go prove it,” he said.
What did you have to prove?
“Who the Giants are,” he said.
The Giants are an offensively challenged team that ended their mind-blowing 220:42 touchdown drought in the second quarter when Tyrod Taylor threw his two TD passes, and when Daniel Jones (neck) returns, the defense will still need to carry the Giants the way the Jets’ defense carries them.
“We tell ourselves we gotta compete against the opposing team’s offense and their defense,” Okereke said. “They got a pretty dominant front four, but we have a dominant front four as well.”
And a maturing secondary. On this day, it didn’t matter that CB Adoree’ Jackson (neck) was sidelined. No. 1 draft pick Deonte Banks (first INT) for example, was fearless and resilient and a clutch open-field tackler.
“Last year it was about bringing ’em to the deep end, this year it’s about hitting them in their mouth first,” Thibodeaux said.
Howell (1-for-15 on third down) was 7 yards from the tie or win with 1:01 left when his fourth-and-5 back-shoulder pass for Jahan Dotson sailed behind him.
“Big-time players make big-time plays … was that Jason Pinnock on that last play?” Thibodeaux asked.
Indeed it was.
“Saw him stumbling a little bit so I know I had a little bit of time,” Pinnock said. “If I was looking at the ball I probably just coulda picked it.”
Williams even blocked a 27-yard field-goal attempt that would have made it a 14-10 game early in the fourth quarter.
“The most encouraging thing is that everybody’s more happy about their teammates’ success than their own,” Okereke said. “We’re just getting better and better.”
It was Micah McFadden who forced Howell to lob a desperation pass from the end zone right into Thibodeaux’s gut.
“It went from an interception to a punt return,” Thibodeaux said. “I saw the open grass, and I saw the blockers, and I looked up and it just hit me in the stomach.”
Lawrence laughed when he was asked about Thibodeaux’s muff.
“I told him that was trash,” Lawrence said. “I told him to shake it off.”
Jihad Ward was asked what the old-time Giants would have thought about this defense.
“MFers out there eatin’,” he said.
Is the best yet to come for this defense?
“Yes,” Ward said.
Season saved.
Hold the obituary.
Bring on the Jets.
