The New York Giants’ pass rush turned on the heat in Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns. The Giants sacked Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson eight times en route to a 21–15 win. The G-Men had a historic sack party in the victory.
Giants reach the history books with sack attack in Week 3
Not only did Big Blue earn its first win of the season, but the Giants’ defense also turned in a performance worthy of the history books. According to Dan Salomone and Giants.com, the Giants became the fourth team to have nine different players record at least half a sack since it became an official statistic in 1982:
“The eight sacks were divided among nine players: Dexter Lawrence led the way with 2.0; Brian Burns, Azeez Ojulari, Elijah Chatman and Jason Pinnock each had 1.0; and Bobby Okereke, Micah McFadden, Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Kayvon Thibodeaux each had a half-sack.
“The Giants became the fourth team to have nine different players record at least half a sack in the same game since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic, joining the Buffalo Bills (Oct. 30, 2011), Dallas Cowboys (Sept. 29, 1985), and Kansas City Chiefs (Dec. 8, 1985).”
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Watson was sacked eight times for a loss of 48 yards. New York’s eight sacks was their highest total in almost 10 years. Their defense suffocated the Browns’ offense all afternoon and also forced two turnovers.
Despite how much criticism defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s unit had received throughout the first two weeks of the season, the Giants’ defense came to play in Week 3. As the team’s offense faltered in the second half, the defense came up clutch and helped Big Blue earn their first win of the season. The 1-2 G-Men will hope to carry that momentum into their Week 4 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night.
