NY Giants Defender Regrets Not Coming Through For Offense

Cornerback Dru Phillips and the New York Giants know it's far more than the luck of the (Fighting) Irish that allowed the Dallas Cowboys to escape with a victory in the latest meeting of NFC East divisional rivals.

Notre Dame alum and Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey extended and ended the Giants' fight to escape from Arlington with a landmark victory, booting a 64-yard deep ball to force an overtime period, which he ended with another triple from 46, giving Dallas just enough to squeak by with a 40-37 triumph.

"It just forces you to play tighter on the other side of the field," Phillips noted in the aftermath.

"You [can only] give up like 20, 30 yards before he's in his range. So it's all about being sticky in that part of the field and just trying to get him out of his range."

Abdul Carter earns an assist on Dru Phillips' interception of Dak Prescott pic.twitter.com/DRhMYDxv8b
— Nick Falato (@nickfalato) September 15, 2025

The Giants' defense struggled to contain the Dallas offense—and its well-legged kicker—preventing New York observers from truly appreciating a breakthrough of sorts for the blue unit: the Giants put up over 500 yards of offense in a game for the first time in nearly six full seasons.

But it also serves as the footnote of another loss within the division, where they hold a brutal 5-20-1 record since the 2021 campaign, including 0-2 this time around.

"They can do it. They showed, and we know they can do it, so they proved it today," Phillips said. "It's up to us, you know, to be better on defense."

Phillips can't be blamed for the Giants' dire defensive fate, as he did a little bit of everything to the tune of several first-down saving tackles that limited the most explosive Cowboys' tallies after the catch and an interception that kicked off the blue second half.

Giants fans were quick to come to his defense after he was called for a questionable penalty, one that saw him get a 15-yard charge for a takedown of CeeDee Lamb.

He was poised to be the hero after six minutes had gone by in the overtime period, as he took down an escaping Jalen Tolbert in the open field on 3rd-and-10, limiting him to a five-yard gain that forced a punt.

Alas for New York, an immediate turnover, perhaps Russell Wilson's lone mistake of the day, gave Dallas the ball back, allowing the Cowboys to simultaneously run out both the clock and the Giants' defensive willpower.

Sep 14, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (88) makes a catch against New York Giants cornerback Dru Phillips (22) and safety Tyler Nubin (27) during the fourth quarter at AT&T Stadium. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

"I'm out there competing my [butt] off, man, like I'm breaking some up, I'm getting some, but we competed," Phillips said. "We had them, man, it's just a couple plays, man. Of course, I'm bummed about it, but we showed a lot today as a team."

Phillips and Co. will have a high-profile opportunity to show what they learned from the Dallas debacle, as the Giants face the likewise-winless Kansas City Chiefs in a primetime bout on Sunday night in East Rutherford (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC).