Giants' Kiwanuka has the other brother story Sunday

Most of the focus Sunday night will be on the brothers who are playing quarterback on opposing teams. But for Mathias Kiwanuka, there's another brother story in Indianapolis this weekend.

The Giants' defensive end is playing his first game in his hometown of Indianapolis since he was in high school. And he'll have all of his family there to watch, some three dozen of them. When the schedule came out in the spring, Kiwanuka said he was excited about the homecoming and being able to play in front of his loved ones.

But between then and now, there was a time when he wasn't sure if they'd all be there. He thought one very important piece would be missing.

On the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, Kiwanuka and his brother Benedict were riding their motorcycles in Indianapolis when Benedict crashed into a car pulling out of a driveway. For two days, Kiwanuka said, it was "touch and go" as to whether Benedict would even survive the crash, which took place about 10 miles northwest of the Colts' stadium.

He did survive. And though he is still recovering from the injuries he suffered on that day nearly four months ago, he will be able to walk into Lucas Oil Stadium to watch his younger brother play for the Giants against the Colts team they grew up rooting for.

The last time Mathias saw Benedict was before he left for training camp in late July.

"He was improving," Kiwanuka said of his condition then. "He hadn't had the pins removed yet. He still needed a lot of assistance, but his spirits were starting to come back up."

And he hadn't been able to walk.

"He could stand for maybe a couple of minutes at a time," Kiwanuka said late this week. "So I haven't seen him walking. I haven't seen him driving. I haven't seen any of that stuff."

Until this weekend. Kiwanuka planned on spending what little free time he had with his immediate family. He hoped to squeeze a few hours in Saturday night and then, because the Giants play at night, spend this afternoon with them at the team hotel. "It's going to be awesome," he said.

Kiwanuka isn't saying the same for the season he's having so far. He came into camp hoping to win the defensive end job ahead of Osi Umenyiora and wound up starting - at linebacker. In the Giants' amoebic defense, Kiwanuka is a victim of his own athleticism and is often the piece that gets floated around the most.

"It's not easy, it's not the position I would prefer to be in," he said. "But if we're winning games, let's do it . . . Winning games is the cure for everything and making plays, that's the individual cure."

The experience he had seeing Benedict almost lose his life, then recover has helped him deal with it, as well.

"Every time I think about the fact that he's recovering, he's walking, it makes you think back on how simple life really is," Kiwanuka said. "We put a lot of pressure on ourselves at work, especially in this business. But at the end of the day, it is a game. It's my job and it's how I feed my family, but it's not the most important thing. The most important thing is your family."

Kiwanuka might not be thrilled with his role on the team, but he's certainly excelling at it. He had two sacks against the Panthers - both from a three-point stance on the defensive line - and his play at linebacker helped stop Carolina's potent running attack. This week, he'll likely be called upon to focus on his pass rushing against Peyton Manning.

He attends a special meetings on Tuesdays each week - usually a day off for the players - to discuss what his role will be in the upcoming game plan and plot out where he will practice during the week. Wednesdays he might be with the ends. Thursdays with the linebackers. It changes week to week. What makes Kiwanuka able to handle that? "His focus, intelligence, toughness, skill set," Tom Coughlin said.

Probably some of the same characteristics that have helped Benedict Kiwanuka pull through his ordeal. He saw some dark days himself. But Mathias said in almost every aspect of his recovery, he is ahead of schedule. That goes for attitude, as well.

"You can hear it in his voice when you talk to him," Kiwanuka said. "Every step that he takes, he's more and more excited about it. And that's fun to watch."

And no doubt thrilling to finally see in person this weekend.