New-look Giants have developed toughness on offense, defense
Kayvon Thibodeaux of the New York Giants takes the field for a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 9, 2025. Credit: Jim McIsaac
After the NFL Draft in April, Giants coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen often used one word to describe their picks: toughness.
Daboll said it was something the Giants coveted in free agency, too.
Fast-forward six months, and it’s starting to manifest more since Jaxson Dart became the starting quarterback.
Consider Thursday night’s 34-17 win over the Eagles.
The Giants ran out the final 6:50 of the game with a drive that featured runs on eight of their first nine plays before Dart kneeled three times.
It was noteworthy given how the Eagles typically wear teams down, especially with their infamous “Tush Push.” The Giants returned the favor, and now they’ve been embracing being a physical team in the three-game span of the Dart era.
“This is a team that when people come here, they’re going to have to win it up front,” defensive lineman Kayvon Thibodeaux said Monday. “We don’t play cute ball, we play smash-mouth football in New York. And I think that aside from just the identity of the team, we play with a relentless passion and vigor to win.”
On defense, Thibodeaux and fellow linebackers Brian Burns and Abdul Carter are slowly imposing their will on quarterbacks. Besides Burns being third in the league in sacks (7.5) and second in tackles for loss (nine), Carter leads the team with 24 pressures. The rookie is just ahead of Burns (23) and Thibodeaux (22) in that category.
Even though he hasn’t gotten his first full sack yet, Carter’s aggressiveness has boosted a pass rush that’s doing more to affect opposing backfields
But it’s the running game in which the physicality has improved. With a healthy Andrew Thomas — who has played every snap the last three games at left tackle — the Giants have thrived on punishing teams up front. Dart and fellow rookie Cam Skattebo have taken turns seeking contact on runs, whether it’s Skattebo’s punishing style or Dart fighting for yards on short gains.
The Giants ran for 161 yards in Dart’s starting debut against the Chargers in Week 4 and rushed for 172 against the Eagles, both wins. Last season, they had only three games with at least 160 rushing yards.
As much as Skattebo’s celebratory backflips and Dart’s showmanship on touchdown runs have jolted fans, it’s their running style that has helped set a new tone. It’s rubbing off on teammates, too. Wan’Dale Robinson’s 35-yard touchdown catch last week was aided by Lil’Jordan Humphrey’s downfield blocking. Robinson also showed his grit by catching a third-and-2 pass from Dart, taking a hit and bouncing off the turf into a squat stance as if to say the hit barely affected him.
“I think whenever you turn on the tape and watch us play, you see just straight toughness and real hard work,” Robinson said Monday. “Just going out there and doing our jobs and doing everything that we can to come away with victories on Sundays.”
It’s also been evident the last two games in stopping the run. What was a weakness last season and the start of this season has been a strength the last two games as the Giants limited Alvin Kamara (27 yards) and Saquon Barkley (58 yards).
Thibodeaux made that part of his goal during his offseason training. In addition to working on finishing sacks, he wanted to improve as a run defender. It’s not just being physical to get to the quarterback but carrying that over to set the edge and help limit big running plays.
“For me coming to this next level, I understood how important it was and how I needed to improve on not just the run but on the pass to be a four-down player,” Thibodeaux said. “So we always kind of say you got to stop the run to be able to get the opportunity to rush the passer. So I’ve taken pride in that this year.”
It’s just another way the Giants are changing their shape since Dart took over. The toughness is still a work in progress, but it’s quickly becoming the trademark Daboll hoped for in the offseason.
“That’s the way we want to play. We want to play physical,” he said Friday. “We want to try to control the line of scrimmage. It’s a very important part of the game, and we need to continue to do that.”
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
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