NY Giants Week 1 Defensive/Special Teams Review: Player-by-Player Rundown

We break down the performances of each member of the New York Giants defense in their Week 1 loss to the Commanders.

Sep 7, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) runs the ball during the fourth quarter against New York Giants linebacker Brian Burns (0) at Northwest Stadium. | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

People will point to the New York Giants' offense as the biggest culprit in the 21-6 loss to Washington, but the defense was just as much to blame for the mishap, as the improvements we all hoped would be present in this year’s group were not.

We’ll start with the run defense, which was abysmal. In 29 run defense snaps, the Giants finished with the second-worst average depth of tackle against the run (6.67 yards), they had four missed tackles per PFF, they tied for the fewest tackles for loss/no gain runs (two), and on first downs, they allowed 102 yards rushing out of the 220 yards surrendered on the ground.  

Turnovers? They were as hard to come by as the pirate's treasure that the team sought to fill their “turnover chest” with. T

he middle of the field? Wide open. And we say all this in knowing that, for as good a game as  Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels played, there were some opportunities there to be had that the Giants just couldn’t capitalize on.

Let’s dive into the defensive (and special teams) portion of the debacle.

Defensive Line

New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Dexter Lawrence: Playing one of his quieter, least effective games as a Giant, Lawrence did not execute against very many double-teams, found himself handled by single teams a bit too comfortably, worked his way into three run-game tackles, and did not once sniff the front of the pocket.  

The Giants need their top-shelf players to perform at their best when the bright lights shine, but Lawrence came up rather small as he awaits the birth of his first child. As far as excuses go, we can’t think of any better, but we sure wish his game had had a little more of that “Sexy Dexy” pop.  

Roy Robertson-Harris:  Interestingly enough, the Commanders ran away from Robertson-Harris most of the day, which kept him away from the action and impacted the game.  

We think this veteran is a stellar run defender with the size to hold up and the athleticism and long arms to shed.  He didn't flash much, finishing with just two tackles, but he has a legit presence that is hard to find.

D.J. Davidson: Getting some limited rotation snaps inside, Davidson held up well physically, but never did find the ball.

Rakeem Nunez-Roches: Flagged for a rather blatant defensive holding call on a running play, Nunez-Roches got a fair amount of playing time, usually alongside Lawrence, and finished with one tackle.

Elijah Garcia: With the need for a run defender this week, Garcia was the team’s lone standard elevation from the practice squad, getting the gameday suit over the slow-developing Darius Alexander, who was a healthy scratch. 

Garcia got on the field for six snaps and found the ball carrier once in pursuit, making a nice play.

Outside Linebackers 

New York Giants linebacker Abdul Carter | Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Brian Burns: Burns’s six total tackles and two sacks made him the best player on the defense.  On his first sack, Burns smartly stayed home and wrapped up the elusive Jayden Daniels before the quarterback could think twice.  

On his second sack, Burns went right around Washington’s right tackle practically untouched and once again was on the Washington quarterback so fast for another sack.  

Burns was also flying around off his edge in pursuit, while also holding his edge with power, showing off that all-around game that is so hard to find in this league.  Burns did eventually seem to succumb to cramps later on, but he returned to finish the game on the field.

Kayvon Thibodeaux: Thibodeaux’s edge rushes were going too far upfield early on, allowing Jayden Daniels to break the pocket around his edge much too easily.  Even with his all-out upfield attack, Thibodeaux could not beat his man.  

His half-sack came later in the first half when he properly maintained his contain, which kept the quarterback in the pocket; his relentless attack on this play led to the sack.  

Thibodeaux finished with two total tackles and was solid holding his contain on his edge on running downs.  He seems to be playing a more physical game in this, his fourth NFL season.

Abdul Carter: Lining up all over the place, the coaches seem to be feeling their way with this uber-talented youngster and how to best utilize his great athleticism.  One thing is for certain: he needs to be on the field more than the 38 snaps he played this week.  

He played numerous passing-down snaps spying on Daniels, but we’d much rather have seen him in attack mode as opposed to this rather passive approach.  

Carter finished with three total tackles plus a half sack, which came off the weakside edge vs. Washington’s best blocker. Carter also drew a hold on this play; several other holds on Carter should have been called, but were ignored.  

He was also the pressure man on the intentional grounding penalty that finished off the first half, a plus play for the Giants.  

Carter was also caught inside on a couple of wide runs that went for big gains.  He has to become more aware of what’s happening when he’s lined up on the edge, which is most of the time. He’ll get there, though.

Chauncey Golston: Getting 11 snaps as an alternate with the edge group, we didn’t see Golston line up inside on passing downs, which is his strength. Per PFF, all 11 of his snaps came at either left LEO or right LEO.

Golston was one of several defenders caught too far inside on the Washington too-easy touchdown stroll into the end zone that came around his edge. He also did not dent the stat sheet this week.

Inside Linebackers 

New York Giants linebacker Micah McFadden | John Jones-Imagn Images

Bobby Okereke: For a player who led his defensive unit in total tackles with 16, more than twice the total of his nearest teammates, we certainly did not think that Okereke passed the eye test.  

By that, we mean we didn’t think any of his tackles were particularly physical, nor were there any flash plays, raising concerns if his back injury that cut short his season last year acted up. There were also some blatant misses. 

For example, when Micah McFadden left the game with an injury, it left backup Darius Muasua one-on-one with tight end Zach Ertz. Okereke had a chance to help out Muasau and break on the ball, but he played it without any sense of urgency, and the touchdown resulted.  

Later on, Okereke read a flat pass on 3rd-and-15 but took a terrible angle and reacted late to the in-cutting by the receiver, who ran right by him for the first down.  It was an egregious error.  Okereke’s gotta be a lot better than that, or this defense isn’t going anywhere.

Micah McFadden: McFadden suffered a foot/leg injury at the end of the first quarter and finished with two tackles in his abbreviated time on the field. 

It was later announced that X-rays were negative, so we suspect, based on the replay of the injury and how his right ankle seemed to be stuck underneath him on a tackle attempt, it’s a sprain. 

We just hope for his sake it’s not the dreaded high ankle sprain, which could cost him several weeks.

Darius Muasau: On the second snap after replacing McFadden, Muasau was beaten easily by a tight end route in single coverage for a 7-yard touchdown pass.  

Nobody expected Muasau to hold up in single press coverage against a veteran receiving tight end like Zach Ertz, but it was how Muasau played the rest of the game that bothered us.  

There was rarely any sense of urgency in how this second-year player attacked his game. He finished with just two tackles despite a fair number of snaps.  We’d sure like to see a bit more fire from this defense’s young players.

Defensive Backs

New York Giants cornerback Paulson Adebo | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Paulson Adebo: It sure looks like the organization found itself a true CB1 with this offseason free agent acquisition. Adebo went up against Washington’s best receiver, Terry McLaurin, and stuck to him like glue, holding McLaurin to just two catches for 27 yards.  

In fact, the defense wasn’t hurt much outside today, as the defense’s starting corners were really on their game. Adebo also pitched in with a healthy seven tackles, one pass defensed, and a ton of sharp and smart coverages.  

Cor’Dale Flott: This week’s CB2 starter, Flott, made a great break on an out route, nearly coming down with the interception.  He followed that up with a solid tackle in run support.  

Flott’s coverage game was solid throughout, but some of his run support decisions were strange.  On Washington’s walk-in 6-yard touchdown run, Flott chose an inside force, leaving the wide edge completely open for the too-easy touchdown.  

It’s the lack of coordination between various units on this defense that gives its run defense a bad reputation, and for good reason.  A good defense needs to be disciplined more than anything.  

Flott did finish up with two tackles and was an overall positive performer.

Dru Phillips: Getting one of the toughest assignments, Phillips went 1-on-1 with veteran receiver Deebo Samuel most of the day.  He lost a handful of those matches, mostly while playing trail technique out of the slot and losing to the big-bodied wideout.  

Phillips did get a measure of revenge by stopping Samuel on a 3rd-and-1 with a spectacular open-field tackle to force a second-half punt and keep it a one-score game to start the fourth quarter.  

Overall, we thought Phillips played a solid and competitive game, finishing with four tackles and rarely leaving the field.  A second-half blitz of Phillips’ almost got home as he made a nice play to avoid a blocker, nudge the quarterback and hurry the throw. This kid sure does a lot of things well. 

Tyler Nubin: Nubin’s five total tackles were all of the downhill variety, though none of them were flash plays. He showed himself well last year as a downhill player. His lone blitz was so hard and fast that he spooked a bad throw out of Daniels.  

What we liked more this week was his movement in coverage. He looked smoother out there, looser in the hips, though he still needs to prove his ability to cover a receiving tight end.  This defense needs this safety to take a big step up.

Jevon Holland: We were very impressed with how Holland played the game.  His tackling was as clean and as reliable as we’ve seen from a Giants safety–and we’re including former Giants safety Xavier McKinney in that statement.  

Holland took consistently good angles and had plenty of strength to wrap up and finish reliably.  His seven total tackles were almost all in space; we also liked how he played instinctively around the line of scrimmage.  

Our favorite play from Holland was his tight coverage on tight end Zach Ertz to force an incompletion.  The Giants haven’t had a safety to trust in press tight end coverage since the days of Kenny Phillips.  It sure looks like Holland might be able to do it all at this key position. 

Dane Belton: Getting a handful of “package” snaps as a safety/LB, the smart, well-built but athletically-limited Belton used positioning to record both of his tackles in those limited snaps.  Belton can hold up to physicality; it’s in space where he’s at a disadvantage.

Special Teams

New York Giants punter Jamie Gillan | Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Graham Gano: Keeping the Giants in today’s game, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with this veteran’s leg as he nailed both of his field goal attempts, from 21 and 55  yards out. 

Jamie Gillan: It was strange to see Gillan kick the opening kickoff, and to his credit, he did a heckuva job of it, forcing the Commanders to field the ball at the goal line, and then the coverage team bringing down the returner at the 20-yard line, which is an excellent result.  

As for Gillan’s punting, that’s another story.  His second punt was a 34-yarder fair-caught at the WAS 42. The field position turned into a Washington touchdown.  

A subsequent 38-yard clunker gave Washington field position at the WAS 41.  The resulting drive should have resulted in Washington points, save for a Washington penalty.  

Two second-half punts were blasted into the end zone for touchbacks, the second of which gave the Commanders a head start on field position, which they turned into a score.  

Though Gillan’s punts did not yield any return yardage today, his 47.8 gross average was downgraded by his 41.2 net.   

Casey Kreiter: As steady as she goes, all of Kreiter’s snaps were sharp and true.

Gunner Olszewski: Olszewski returned three punts for 24 stress-free yards.  We like his north-south return style.  

There are no wasted yards out there when Olszewski is returning kicks.  He took a big hit at the end of one of those north-south jaunts, but he held onto the ball and popped up like a modern-day Phil McConkey.

Wan’Dale Robinson: Getting both kickoff return opportunities, neither threatened the Washington initial level.  We like Robinson’s aggressive approach, but we’d like to see a bit more vision from him. 

Tyler Nubin/Jevon Holland: Both starting safeties were used in kickoff coverage this week, most likely to help defend against the dynamic Deebo Samuel, who did return two kickoffs.  Both safeties made a kickoff tackle each.

Art Green: We were impressed by Green’s early solo blocking against a gunner on a punt return.  He then followed that up by drawing a holding penalty as a gunner while fighting through a double team.

Nic Jones: The other starting gunner today was Jones, who also acquitted himself well, fighting through doubles and playing tough.  Jones earned himself a solo tackle on punt coverage. 

Micah McFadden: The veteran inside linebacker contributed early on when he made the solo tackle on the game’s opening kickoff.

Dane Belton: Belton’s pitch-perfect field sense got him into position to make solo tackles on a kickoff return as well as a punt return.  Belton continues to man the fullback role on the punt team.

Abdul Carter: After just missing a punt block with an electric edge move in the first half, Carter went after the same edge on the next punt, this one in the third quarter, and this time he got it.  His block not only forced a 31-yard punt, but it also really shook up the Washington punter.

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