Just like they’ve strived to do all year, the Giants played complementary football on Sunday, leading to a blowout win over Indianapolis that clinched the team’s first playoff berth since 2016.
“We played well on all three sides of the ball: special teams, offense and defense, good complementary football, and that is what we try to preach every day,” said defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence. “If one side of the ball is doing well, the other side has to complement it and I think we all came out to play as hard as we can with just great technique and discipline.”
Only a handful of players on the roster were in the league the last time the Giants made the playoffs, and only one was actually on that 2016 team: Landon Collins, who finds himself in a much different role on the defense this time.
“This is a great opportunity. Glad to be back, just a blessing just to be back in the locker room with these guys, having fun and playing ball. That's the biggest thing,” Collins said after the clincher. “We clinched the playoffs and now do our thing.”
He’ll also take on a new role come next week: veteran mentor on a team that no one thought was talented enough to make noise, let alone make the playoffs.
“The togetherness, how steadfast this team is, how family oriented this team is, and how everybody stays accountable, and we keep each other accountable…everybody stays on other each just about any old thing because that's how this thing goes,” Collins said of the 2022 Giants. “And I’ll tell them that it’s not just next week, the sense of urgency is through the roof. Every little detail, every little fine thing that we need to be perfect on, we have to be perfect on.”
It hasn’t always been easy, but for a rookie like Kayvon Thibodeaux, the ends justified the means and the road to get there.
“This is a blessing to play at the highest stage and then have an opportunity to go win it all, you couldn't dream for anything better,” Thibodeaux said. “But not everything went right. We worked, we grinded, we had been losing, we bounced back, we fought, and all of the things that we had to correct we went and corrected them and we are going to keep working. From the top of the line to the bottom of the line, everybody took it serious and we all had to get right what we needed to get right.”
Resilience and consistency has been the Giants’ mantra all year, and now, it’s time to show it when it counts most.
“I think the biggest thing in sports is consistency. You talk about being resilient, I think the hard part about the word 'resilient' is that it makes it seem as if you weren't working hard in the beginning,” Thibodeaux said. “For us, it's understanding that we have been working hard, but there are still things we can get better at and not being satisfied with what we have done. It's all about what you can do.”
The Giants still have two possible destinations next week, either San Francisco or Minnesota depending on what happens Sunday, but either way, Thibs thinks the team can make some noise – and hopes Big Blue Nation comes with them to help them make it.
I think in the playoffs, it's every man for themselves, and any team can win it all. It's up to us to keep staying consistent and keep doing the things that got us here and just keep moving forward,” Thibodeaux said. “Our crowd was electric (Sunday), and I think that is what we are going to need moving forward. Whatever home games we do get, or wherever we travel, fans – y'all need to be there.”
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