Dexter Lawrence, Saquon Barkley believe win over Commanders can jump-start Giants' season
Dexter Lawrence II #97 of the New York Giants pushes Spencer Brown #79 of the Buffalo Bills in the third quarter of a game at Highmark Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Orchard Park. Credit: Getty Images/Bryan M. Bennett
The Giants’ season has not gone well.
They have one win, quarterback Daniel Jones has an injured neck and the offensive line is in its seventh configuration in as many weeks.
If Jones can’t start on Sunday, Tyrod Taylor will be behind center for a second straight week.
On Thursday, Saquon Barkley made a plea at his locker to not be traded.
The good feelings of reaching the playoffs last season are long gone. And in this game against the Commanders, the Giants need a win in the worst way.
“What bothers me is the losing, obviously,” said defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, who is looking for his first sack. “The numbers will come when they come. I’m never stressing over numbers. I affect the game in a lot of ways. I’m going to keep doing that. If the perfect play comes, that’s a sack. Everything has to click, so I’m never stressing over that.”
Lawrence believes one win could make a significant difference.
“I think it will build more confidence and more morale,” he said. “Just keep winning, keep believing, things like that. So I think that’s what it will do for us.”
Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said he has seen the Giants’ defense improve as inside linebacker Bobby Okereke has become more comfortable in his role. Okereke signed with the Giants during the offseason after spending his first four years with the Colts.
“I think a lot of guys on defense just have the same mindset and the want-to [win mentality],” Lawrence said. “Our mindset is just to go kick somebody’s butt, for real.”
For Barkley, Sunday will mark another week removed from the ankle sprain that sidelined him for three games.
“No setbacks,” he said.
What could a win do for the Giants?
“It can do a lot. It can do a lot,” he said. “All it takes is one, one win to get the confidence. Even in the games you lose, you can find that sometimes.
“A team like Buffalo, going there in a hostile environment [last week], playing a really good team, coming out with a game that we feel like we should’ve had, [but] obviously we didn’t do enough.”
Perhaps playing at home will help.
“We could use that as the turning point and help catapult us to come into this week playing back in our stadium, with our fans against a divisional opponent and get a divisional win,” Barkley said. “Could be the start of something special.”
The NFL features four running backs with at least three rushing touchdowns and two receiving scores. The Giants have played against three of them: San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey and Miami’s Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane. On Sunday, they’ll see the fourth in Washington’s Brian Robinson, who has rushed for 309 yards and has caught 11 passes for 113 yards.
“He looks to run to contact,” Martindale said. “He’s an old Earl Campbell- type runner, if you will. He’s tough.”
Martindale has emphasized to his players that Robinson does not go down easily.
“Everybody needs to be at the party,” Martindale said. “Now, we got a fumble off him last year, but he rarely fumbles, so that’s going to be a challenge for us.”
The Commanders have six players with at least 130 receiving yards, led by Terry McLaurin, who has team-high totals of 31 catches and 342 yards.
“Scary Terry, that’s what I call him,” Martindale said. “He’s the main guy and the other guys have stepped up, too. [Jahan] Dotson’s starting to come along, and Curtis Samuel, he’s like a Deebo Samuel type. It’s a great challenge for us.”
The Giants season has not gone well.
They have one win, quarterback Daniel Jones has an injured neck, and the offensive line is in its seventh configuration in as many weeks.
If Jones can’t start on Sunday, Tyrod Taylor will be behind center for a second straight week.
On Thursday, Saquon Barkley made a plea at his locker to not be traded.
The good feelings of last season’s playoffs are long gone. And against the Commanders, the Giants need a win in the worst way.
“What bothers me is the losing obviously,” defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence said. “The numbers will come when they come. I'm never stressing over numbers. I affect the game in a lot of ways. I’m going to keep doing that. If the perfect play comes, that’s a sack. Everything has to click. So, I'm never stressing over that.”
Lawrence, who is still looking for his first sack of the season, believes one win could make a significant difference.
“I think it'll build more confidence and more morale,” he said. “Just keep winning, keep believing, things like that. So, I think that's what it will do for us.”
Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said he has seen the Giants defense improve as inside linebacker Bobby Okereke has become more comfortable in his role. Okereke signed with the Giants during the offseason after spending his first four years with the Colts.
“I think a lot of guys on defense just have the same mindset and the want to [win],” Lawrence said. “Our mindset is just to go kick somebody’s butt, for real.”
For Barkley, Sunday will mark another week removed from the ankle sprain that sidelined him for three games.
“No setbacks,” he said.
What could a win do for the Giants?
“It can do a lot. It can do a lot,” Barkley said. “All it takes is one, one win to get the confidence. Even in the games you lose, you can find that sometimes.
"A team like Buffalo, going there in a hostile environment, playing a really good team, coming out with a game that we feel like we should’ve had, [but] obviously we didn’t do enough.”
Perhaps playing at home will help.
“We could use that as the turning point and help catapult us to come into this week playing back in our stadium, with our fans against a divisional opponent and get a divisional win,” Barkley said. “Could be the start of something special.”
The NFL has four running backs with at least three rushing touchdowns and two receiving scores. The Giants have played against three of them: San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey and Miami’s Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane. On Sunday, they’ll see the fourth, Washington’s Brian Robinson, who has rushed for 309 yards and caught 11 passes for 113 yards.
“He looks to run to contact,” Martindale said. “He's an old Earl Campbell type runner, if you will. He’s tough.”
Martindale has emphasized to his players that Robinson does not go down easily.
“Everybody needs to be at the party,” Martindale said. “Now, we got a fumble off him last year, but he rarely fumbles, so that’s going to be a challenge for us.”
The Commanders have five players with at least 130 receiving yards, led by Terry McLaurin, who has team-high totals of 31 catches and 342 yards.
“Scary Terry, that’s what I call him,” Martindale said. “He’s the main guy and the other guys have stepped up, too. [Jahan] Dotson's starting to come along, and Curtis Samuel, he’s like a Deebo Samuel type. It’s a great challenge for us.”
VITALS
Line: Commanders by 3; O/U 37 1/2
TV:: CBS (Andrew Catalon, Tiki Barber, Matt Ryan)>
Radio: WFAN-660 AM, 101.9 FM (Bob Papa, Carl Banks, Howard Cross); Sirius XM 111 or 230.
All-time series: Giants lead 105-70-5, (Giants have won 6 of last 9).
KEY INJURIES
Giants: OUT: OL Matt Peart (shoulder), OL John Michael Schmitz (shoulder), OL Andrew Thomas (hamstring). QUESTIONABLE: DB Adoree’ Jackson (neck), QB Daniel Jones (neck), OT Evan Neal (ankle).</CW>
Commanders: None.
WOE, THE OFFENSE
Over the last three weeks, the Giants offense has not scored a touchdown. The team’s only touchdown was on Jason Pinnock’s 102-yard interception return in Miami.
PLEASE, NO TIES
No ties this time! Last season, the Giants played Washington twice in a three-game span and went 1-0-1. Sunday needs to produce a winner.
QUOTABLE
“That’s an emphasis for us, we need to work to improve that. I’m really critical of myself on all those things, too. We practice it, we talk about it, we had some opportunities. Now, we’ve got to capitalize on them.” -– OC Mike Kafka on the offense’s inability to score
INTANGIBLES
The defense has all five of its takeaways in the last two weeks, and ILB Bobby Okereke had a hand in four of them.
NUMBER, PLEASE
4: Offensive linemen the Giants have added in the past two weeks. Three from other teams’ practice squads: Tyre Phillips (Philadelphia), Joshua Miles (Atlanta) and Sean Harlow (Dallas). Justin Pugh, signed to the practice squad last week and the active roster this week, played the entire game vs. the Bills, including the final 68 snaps at LT, where he had not previously taken a practice rep.
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
