The New York Giants’ defense bounced back with an excellent performance in the team’s Week 3 win over the Cleveland Browns. The unit struggled to contain opposing offense through the first two weeks of the season but turned on the heat and helped earn a 21–15 victory in Week 3. Entering a pivotal divisional matchup with the Dallas Cowboys, in Week 4, however, injuries could leave the Giants’ ascending defense shorthanded.
Several key Giants defenders are on the injury report entering Week 4
The Giants have a quick turnaround between their Week 3 and Week 4 matchups with their upcoming contest being on Thursday night. Playing on a short week does not give the G-Men much time to get healthy, especially after walking away from their win over the Browns with a few key defenders on the injury report.
According to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, cornerbacks Adoree’ Jackson (calf) and Dru Phillips (calf) were listed as “did not practice” on Monday after sustaining injuries on Sunday. Cornerback Nick McCloud was also listed as a limited participant in practice with a knee injury that kept him sidelined for the team’s last two games.
Joining McCloud on the limited participant list was star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and starting linebacker Micah McFadden. While none of these key players have been ruled out just yet, Big Blue’s next matchup is only a couple of days away, making their respective game statuses uncertain as they prepare for a primetime Thursday night contest.
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So far this season, the Giants’ defense is surrendering 318.0 total yards of offense per game. In Week 3 against the Browns, the Giants racked up eight sacks en route to a commanding win on the road.
The Giants will be hosting the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night for what will be a crucial matchup for the NFC East rivals who both possess 1-2 records on the season. The last time Big Blue beat Big D at home was all the way back in 2016. Dallas has gotten the better of New York in recent years — a trend that head coach Brian Daboll will aim to end on Thursday night.