The secondary was a bright spot for the Giants in 2020, but even with the addition of Adoree Jackson this year, that unit hasn’t been quite as stellar.
Until Sunday, that is, when they were helped out by a ferocious Giants pass rush in holding two Panthers quarterbacks to 144 yards passing, defensing seven passes and coming up with one interception by ex-Panther James Bradberry.
“I think we communicated well all-around throughout the whole game, and I don't think we did a good job of that the past few weeks,” Bradberry said of the effort. “I think that was different today.”
Bradberry admitted that he came off his man to make that interception, but the Giants were in zone coverage – something they used a lot in 2020 to force turnovers, and perhaps something they can do more of this season as time goes on.
“We were in zone but I only had one threat to my side. I could have stayed with my man, but I figured the over was coming, so I came off. Fortunately, it was the right call,” Bradberry said. “We’re playing the same zone coverage that we did last year, but like I said, right now, I think we're communicating well and alerting certain indicators that the offense is giving us. Making sure everyone is on the same task. I think that's one thing that's helping us out right now.”
Bradberry could see, even from the secondary, that the Carolina offense as a whole was getting frustrated, especially Sam Darnold in what was a very unhappy return to MetLife for the former Jet.
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“Our front seven did a great job of rushing the passer and getting after the quarterback. I think that affected him today,” Bradberry said.
So, it wasn’t surprising that come the fourth quarter, Darnold was benched in favor of PJ Walker, an Elizabeth, N.J. native whose last action in the Garden State was a 2013 game at Rutgers in his freshman season at Temple.
“Of course, you don't want to see a guy get benched, so I felt bad as a player, but that's the business of it, and I wasn't really surprised or thinking about it too much,” Bradberry said. “We were about to get on the field, and they said, 'No. 6 is in.’ He's just another quarterback to me, and I'm trying to get an interception. That's what I was thinking when he got in. I figured we still have to make some plays to keep our offense ahead.”
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No further turnovers on Walker, but he was sacked three times in one quarter and, even counting his 13 yard run, only accounted for 27 net yards. A strong finish for a Giants defense that could’ve relaxed a bit at that point, but as Bradberry said, finishing the job was personal to him and the rest of the team.
“Yeah, we took it personal. We're a defense, and our goal is to stop them from scoring, but we hadn't been doing that the past few weeks,” Bradberry said. “Our goal today was to come out here and play strong every series. I think we did a good job of doing that, so we're definitely happy with our results.”
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