EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants have turned into a sack machine.
For the third straight week, the Giants wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks, with seven takedowns in the team's 24-13 win over the Washington Redskins.
That follows up another seven-sack performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and an eight-sack game against the Tennessee Titans. Yes, these are very weak opponents. But perhaps it's a good sign for the future.
In the first 11 games of the year, the Giants had just 19 sacks, ranking them near the bottom of the NFL. They now have 22 the past three weeks, elevating them into the top 10 of the league.
"That D-line, they're hungry," middle linebacker Jameel McClain said. "The hunger is there -- not to say that it wasn't there in the beginning, but it's obvious. You see drooling dogs when it comes to third down. That's what you want to see."
The defense actually played pretty poorly in the first half, giving up 265 yards to the Redskins, to just 95 for the Giants. Luckily Washington's lead was just 10-7, after Robert Griffin III's touchdown run on the final play of the half was overturned by review.
But the Giants gave up just three more points after that, collecting five of their seven sacks in the final two quarters.
"We came in at halftime and we weren’t playing great. We could have done better," defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said. "We came out with energy and we wanted it more. We were the most physical team and we proved it out there."
Pierre-Paul was the catalyst, with 2.5 sacks and five quarterback hits. He now has 9.5 sacks on the season, his most since posting 16.5 back in 2011.
Second-year defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins also had 2.5 sacks on the day. Hankins is known as a run-stuffer, but now has seven sacks on the season, and looks like a cornerstone for years to come.
Cullen Jenkins also had one sack, and Damontre Moore and Devon Kennard shared one. Kennard, the rookie linebacker from USC, now has 4.5 sacks in the past three games.
"There’s more people involved in making a lot of plays, which is a good thing," coach Tom Coughlin said. "JPP has turned it up and he’s made a bunch of plays here in the last four or five games. You’re getting plays from the interior guys. When Damontre had a couple plays a week ago, Hankins had a play today or a couple of plays. Devon has done a good job of that as well and gotten pressure. The more the merrier."
It's too late to save this season, but perhaps the Giants don't have to make wholesale changes on the defensive line. Pierre-Paul may be worthy of a big contract after all. He's still not among the league leaders in sacks, but he's climbing the list -- and he's played extremely well against the run this year, too.
In fact, Pierre-Paul entered this week ranked the fourth-best 4-3 defensive end in the league, according to Pro Football Focus, and the best DE against the run.
“Those are just numbers, man," Pierre-Paul said, of his sack total. "If you look at the full game and the statistics and the performance as a whole, I’m having a great season. I know that, and I know things will take care of themselves.
"Right now, I’m just focused on these last two games and trying to get a couple of wins."
