Giants defense looks to string together two solid halves of football

The Giants defense knows it has to start games off faster to help out the offense. But how close are they to doing that?

The Giants defense was torched by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for six straight scores in the first half as the Bucs jumped out to a 28-10 halftime lead.

But in the second half, the Giants held the Bucs to just three points as the Giants offense played catch up and, overtook Tampa for the lead.

What changed on defense?

“I think we came out in the second half with a completely different sense of urgency,” said safety Antoine Bethea. “It was just tighter coverage and guys were doing their jobs a little bit more.”

Although the defense still has a ways to go before it's at the level it aspires to reach, there have been baby steps taken by this unit, most notably when its back is against the wall.

In Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants defense allowed 21 points in the first half and 14 in the second half.

And in their home opener against the Bills in Week 2, New York gave up 21 first-half points, but held the Buffalo Bills scoreless in the third quarter and to just one touchdown in the fourth.

Then, on Sunday, the Giants defense flipped in the second half again, holding the Bucs to three points compared to the 28 allowed in the first. Bethea said that the defense was doing the same thing as it did in the first but executed better under pressure in the second half.

What's behind this trend? Head coach Pat Shurmur explained that the defensive calls were not much different in the second half compared to the first, but the mindset in his players is what changed. 

“They scored on six possessions—they had the ball six times and scored six times—and then (the Bucs) came out in the second half, and we had some backups playing, and I thought we were more disruptive,” Shurmur said.

Shurmur also pointed to the Giants' strong showing in the red zone as a reason for the defense's progress last week, as Tampa converted just one of their five red-zone trips into a touchdown.

“We were much better, and I think that’s where it comes to," Shurmur said. "So, even in the midst of playing through the big plays that they made against us when the rubber sort of hits the road and they were in the scoring zone, we did a better job of getting them stopped.”

The next logical step for the Giants defense will be to figure out how to string two solid halves together instead of starting off slowly as they have so far.

The Giants defense will look to do that with a relatively young group of players that includes linebacker Ryan Connelly, who picked up the first Giants interception of the season yesterday; edge rusher Oshane Ximines, who recorded a sack, cornerback DeAndre Baker, who played his best game so far; and defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II, who had a sack, two quarterback hits and a tackle for a loss in the win over the Bucs.  

“I think that’s going to be the challenge moving forward,” Shurmur said. “We always talk about starting strong and finishing fast, and we certainly have to handle the first half better.”