Giants Week 15 Defensive Player Reviews: Another Week, Another Disappointment

When it comes to the New York Giants, we’re just not sure we can blame injuries on what this unit shows week in and week out.

Again, armed with a mostly healthy unit, stalwarts such as Dexter Lawerence, Bobby Okereke, and Jevon Holland, just to name a few, came up short when their team needed them most. (We’ll get into specifics below.)

Week after week, there are big plays that neutralize any good. This week, there was the 51-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Mariota to Terry McLaurin and a 16-yard touchdown run up the gut by Bill Croskey-Merritt.

On the season, the Giants' defense has allowed the second-most big-play runs of 20+ yards (16) and the second-most runs of 40+ yards (6). The pass defense has allowed the 10th-most big-play receptions (44) of 20+ yards, and 55.9% of pass plays against them have gone for first downs, which is the sixth-worst mark in the league.

About the only bright spot this week was the play of rookie Abdul Carter, who had something of a coming-out party after finally realizing that it takes work to be great and not pure talent. But at this point, the defense, which is not the main reason for the loss, is what it is: a collection of talent with no direction or plan.

Defensive Line

Dexter Lawrence

The D-line’s one-armed man continued to play soft and ineffective football. Lawrence simply cannot battle out there. Let’s hope it’s something that can heal, and that he can rebound from the injury (elbow) in 2026.

His 2025 season has been as disappointing as it gets. This week, there were two inconsequential tackles, zero pressure up the middle, and lots of solo-blocking that handled him all day.

This is from a player coming off of three Pro Bowl appearances and a career-high 9.0 sacks.

Roy Robertson-Harris

The defense’s best pit player, Robertson-Harris, recorded three tackles while battling hard and playing consistent, physical football.

However, there was no pocket pressure nor difference-making from this veteran.

Darius Alexander

Getting a ton of snaps, the rookie had his moments, maintaining his gap integrity, which contributed to big plays by the defense.

Though Alexander did not finish any plays and did not appear on the stat sheet, we thought his presence was big and his combat level high.

We like how he stays on his feet while keeping them moving. On passing downs, we’d like to see a clearer plan.

Elijah Chatman

Getting another elevation from the practice squad today, Chatman got 15-20 snaps at DT and held his own most of the time. He didn’t make it onto the stat sheet, but he was around the ball a lot and produced one decent bull rush on a passing down.

D.J. Davidson

Fighting off an undisclosed illness all week, Davidson dressed and got on the field for a handful of snaps, but he was not himself.

Outside Linebackers

Dec 14, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Washington Commanders running back Jeremy McNichols (26) fumbs the ball being tackled by New York Giants linebacker Abdul Carter (51) during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Brian Burns

The team’s sack leader (13.0) played yet another active, versatile, and effective game.

Though a handful of his pass rushes forced incompletions, he never quite got home, though we liked how attack-oriented he was throughout.

Burns managed just one assist in the tackle column, but he was alert to jump on a Washington fourth-quarter fumble to set up the offense on a short field that was quickly turned into a one-score game.

Abdul Carter

The defense’s best player, Carter, started fast: on the Commanders’ first snap, he played a textbook contain on his edge vs. Pro Bowl OT Laremy Tunsil, standing up the much bigger man and then finishing the play himself for a loss of a yard.

Carter also drew a hold on a strongside edge rush, and then produced a strongside sack and forced fumble to force a punt. Carter just missed another sack but still made the tackle in pursuit.

He then made two stops in the backfield with penetration, making inside blockers whiff with his quicks.

In the fourth quarter, Carter ripped the ball out of a back’s grasp and then recovered the loose ball; though he was touched down, Carter nevertheless got up and started a three-lateral sequence that was the entertainment highlight of the day.

Carter finished the game with seven tackles, each one of them impactful, 3 of them for loss; one sack, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.

He played smartly and patiently, and didn’t seem to be overreacting. We like how he picked his spots out there and had a plan. He was dynamic.

Chauncey Golston

Getting a dozen or so snaps on the outside, mostly on passing downs, Golston did manage to record one tackle, but for the most part, he was a non-factor.

Tomon Fox

Signed to the 53-man roster off the practice squad, Fox got a handful of edge snaps and played vanilla physical contain, getting in on one running game tackle.

Inside Linebackers

Bobby Okereke

Contributing with seven total tackles, Okereke had a bunch of solid reads, but his inability to finish and/or keep up with the speed of the game was jarring.

In space, Okereke could not keep up and failed miserably several times. His lack of physicality came forth when he filled several inside gaps and met a back in the hole, but he could not stand him up.

If your inside signal caller and defensive captain cannot fill a hole, then your defense has problems.

Darius Muasau

Activated off of IR for this week’s game – Muasau missed four games with an ankle injury – the coaches re-inserted Muasau back into the starting lineup.

He responded by leading the defense with nine total tackles, though none of them were defining or impactful.

The linebacker allowed the running quarterback to get around his edge for yards, both times with inside leverage help that Muasau declined to use.

He held up physically but was slow to react in space and, overall, did not make a difference.

Defensive Backs

Paulson Adebo

Matched up against veteran receiver Deebo Samuel, who is built more like a tight end nowadays than a fleet-footed wideout, we were disappointed that Adebo played off of Samuel, choosing not to challenge him and handing him wide-open completions like they were free candy.

If Adebo is not going to be a challenging type of corner, he should switch to free safety, where an opening is begging to be filled.

To his credit, Adebo plays the game with his eyes wide open, which attests to his consistently high tackle totals every week (another 7 today). This secondary needs to challenge receivers, not back away from them.

Cor’Dale Flott

Flott’s productive game included Washington staying away from him as much as possible. The one time that Washington went after Flott – ironically enough, with Samuel the target – Flott’s smothering coverage deflected the throw that very nearly became an interception.

Otherwise, Flott was matched up against Washington’s best wideout, Terry McLaurin, all day. Flott was flagged for a bogus pass interference penalty on McLaurin as he continued his suffocating coverage throughout.

Dru Phillips

Phillips drew an early holding call while defending a WR screen. Nobody defends those WR screens like Phillips.

Later on, Phillips executed two textbook deep coverage plays, including one against McLaurin. This is why you don’t give up on this kid. He can cover; all he needs to do is trust his feet and not grab.

He’s got the instincts and style to be a top slot corner. In fact, Phillips' instincts around the line of scrimmage are so sharp that he shouldn’t be coming off the field at all.

Give him some professional defensive coaching, and we think he’s ready to soar.

Jevon Holland

Holland was one of the more disappointing performers in the loss. He had a chance to get the defense off the field on third down early on, but he was unable to make a play on the ball against a possession receiver, yielding a 28-yard gain.

On a late 2nd-and-10, Holland got juked and lost to a third-string tight end for 38 yards with the clock ticking down. Holland contributed five total tackles, but there wasn’t a signature play in the bunch. Despite being placed in position to come up big, he came up small.

Tyler Nubin

We didn’t see many misses from Nubin, as he was tasked with patrolling the line of scrimmage and the short zones. Two of his seven total tackles came in the backfield.

Nubin also had the best inside fill of the night when he stoned a back in the hole, a feat that neither inside linebacker was able to produce.

Nubin was making aggressive decisions and taking good angles. Though he didn’t make any semblance of an impact in those short coverages today, and though he continues to be one of the worst-blitzing safeties that we’ve seen around these parts, Nubin was an asset around the line of scrimmage all day long.

Dane Belton

Though Belton had an impressive statistical game – 8 total tackles, two forced fumbles, a sack, and a big tackle for loss – one play proved what the league already knows: Belton is not a full-time safety.

He is a “hero” safety, someone (like Nubin) who patrols the line of scrimmage and excels at it. But when it comes to playing a deep high safety, Belton simply lacks the agility and the long speed to play the deep zones.

Case in point: Belton was targeted and juked badly in deep coverage, could not recover, and gave up a much-too-easy touchdown throw of 51 yards.

At first, this play looked like busted coverage, but no, it was simply Belton being too slow to cover so much space. Give Belton credit for coming up with several impactful plays today, but also one for the other team.

What happens next with the NY Giants? Find out! Follow and like us on Facebook. Visit our YouTube channel for the latest videos. Want to send a question in for our mailbag? You can do so here.