EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants' defense didn't have outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. Yet, it didn't seem to slow it.
Thibodeaux's fill-in, Azeez Ojulari, was constantly in the backfield. He had two sacks and six pressures, which tied for most of any player in Week 6. On the other side, outside linebacker Brian Burns had four pressures and two tackles for loss. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II chipped in with his seventh sack of the season, a half-sack off his career high. Mind you, it's six games into the season.
This is what's driving the Giants' defense. New coordinator Shane Bowen's group is making a name for itself by taking residence in the opposition's backfield, specifically its front four.
"They can win some one-on-ones," Bengals coach Zac Taylor said after his offense sputtered through a 17-7 victory over the Giants. "They've really invested in that front, and it shows."
It may not have been enough for the Giants to win, but it is enough to generate optimism that this group is on the verge of being really good.
What the Giants were hoping would happen when they traded for Burns from the Carolina Panthers this past offseason has started to take shape. Their defense is first in the NFL with 26 sacks -- four clear of the nearest contender, the Denver Broncos. The defense is top 10 in points (20.2 PPG) and yards allowed (314.0 YPG). It is consistently affecting high-end opposing quarterbacks and seemingly getting better every week.
The Giants' defense held Cincinnati's Joe Burrow, Dallas' Dak Prescott and Seattle's Geno Smith each to under 235 yards passing in successive games.
Burns believes there is more solid play to come from the defense.
"[The Bengals was] a good performance. It's not the standard," he said. "Certain opportunities that we [can] still get. Never want to get complacent. So if there are more plays to make, we should make them."
In a week when the Giants (2-4) are preparing to face Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles, the way the defense has played only further illustrates why general manager Joe Schoen allowed the running back to walk during an offseason focused on reallocating resources. His primary goals were to improve the pass rush and offensive line, rather than invest top-of-the-market money in a running back.
Now, it seems prudent, even if Barkley is having a fine season. He's fourth in the NFL in rushing with 482 yards in four games. The Giants, meanwhile, are getting production from rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. He has flashed enough in the past two weeks to think he can develop into a starter as a fifth-round pick.
But now it's the Giants' defense that is the strength of their team. And it begins with Burns and Lawrence doing their parts, which is necessary, considering they are the centerpieces and two highest-paid players on defense.
Burns is fifth in the NFL in pass rush win rate at 26.3%, while Lawrence is redefining his position. He has 13 pressures and 11 quarterback hits from the nose tackle position. That is more than twice as many pressures than any other nose tackle.
Thibodeaux was the third piece of the puzzle. But he landed on injured reserve last weekend after breaking the scaphoid bone in one of his wrists and is obligated to miss at least four games.
Ojulari stepped in Sunday night and the defense didn't miss a beat. The pressure kept coming from the front four. The Giants had seven quarterback hits on Burrow, with the front four (which includes DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches) accounting for six of them.
"I thought our defense played very good football. ... They played winning football," coach Brian Daboll said.
Ojulari should be able to hold up in the short-term. He's a player who was a second-round pick in 2021 out of the University of Georgia. He had eight sacks during a promising rookie season before injuries slowed him the past few years.
Now, Ojulari's healthy. His 10 pressures on 86 pass rushes this season gives him an 11.6% pressure rate. That is higher than Burns, albeit in a smaller sample size.
It's still not a complete surprise that Ojulari had success Sunday night. He was waiting patiently for this opportunity. Lawrence, a defensive captain, even sent him a text message last week, telling him: "It's your time!"
It's on Bowen to make it work when Thibodeaux returns. That shouldn't be a problem. He's made it work so far and has his unit playing good football the past few weeks.
The Giants' defense hasn't allowed more than 21 points in any game. The Giants lost 28-6 in their opener to the Minnesota Vikings, but one of those scores came on a Daniel Jones pick-six.
The thought was that Bowen would sit back and rely solely on his front four. But he's blitzed more than expected. His 28.6% blitz rate is 11th in the league through six weeks. His game plans vary by opponent, keeping them off-balance.
But it still all starts with the Giants' front four. The game plan is built around it, just as Schoen had hoped.
"We've been productive for the most part trying to affect the quarterback," Bowen said. "We've had some sacks from some other places. I think that's a product of those four as well."
They are becoming the centerpieces not just of the defense, but of this Giants team.