Giants need Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux to live up to high billing against Commanders

The Giants are hoping they bankrolled two pass rushers who can prevent an entrance into can’t-buy-a-win territory. 

After being collectively held in check during a Week 1 loss, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux draw a seemingly favorable matchup Sunday against the Commanders, who employ journeyman right tackle Andrew Wylie and a left-tackle rotation of Cornelius Lucas and rookie Brandon Coleman. 

It’s not a moment too soon for Burns to live up to his $141 million contract or for Thibodeaux to play like the former No. 5 pick in the draft.

Especially when defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s scheme relies on the front four to win one-on-one matchups. 

“I tell them that every day,” Bowen said. “Where the resources are delegated, you have to be good. Your best players have to be good. It’s the nature of the league. Your best players got to play their best every Sunday if you want to play good. With that, they have to go out there and perform. They’re working hard every day to improve, to get on the same page and make sure they’re coordinated.” 

Neither Burns (five quarterback pressures) nor Thibodeaux (one quarterback hit) had a sack against the Vikings’ high-end tackle duo of Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill.

They combined for 19.5 sacks last season, when Thibodeaux led the Giants and Burns led the Panthers. 

“You go into every game feeling like you can dominate,” Burns said. “I want [Bowen] to believe in us and have that type of message for us.” 

The call-to-action stirs memories of Thibodeaux’s best game of his two-year career — perhaps the most dominant by a Giant in a big spot in a decade.

He had 12 tackles, a strip-sack, fumble-recovery touchdown and a touchdown-saving hustle play at Washington in a playoff-odds-boosting win Dec. 18, 2022. 

How does he get more involved than he was against the Vikings? 

“[Be] fundamentally sound,” Thibodeaux said. “Obviously, you start to get down, things start to get on you, but the last play can’t help or hurt you, so continuing to play fundamentally sound and just continue rushing. They had a lot of chippers and a lot of different things last game that slowed the rush down, but not letting it get into your head and just continuing to stick within the game plan.” 

The Giants are 9-18-1 since a 6-1 start under head coach Brian Daboll in 2022.

An 0-2 start for the sixth time in the last eight years under four head coaches almost certainly could be a season death knell given the gauntlet of six straight playoff contenders ahead before the rematch with the Commanders. 

“No panic,” safety Jason Pinnock said of the Giants’ mindset. “Just urgency.” 

General manager Joe Schoen’s blockbuster trade for Burns redesigned the roster for the pass rush — which includes Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence — to be the tone-setters, like great teams in the franchise’s history.

Lawrence had the Giants’ only sack against the Vikings, after Thibodeaux set the lofty preseason goal of chasing Michael Strahan’s NFL record for 22.5 sacks in a season. 

“I feel very confident in our ability to affect the quarterback with four guys,” Bowen said. 

The problem Sunday is that any kind of over-aggressiveness can backfire against rookie dual-threat quarterback Jayden Daniels.

He carried 16 times for 88 yards and two touchdowns in his NFL debut — and came across as dangerous on film. 

“Fast is the first thing I thought,” Burns said. “And, secondly, he looks confident. The way he plays, he exudes some confidence. Even after a couple bad throws, it’s like he brushed it off like it never happened. So that type of confidence is what you look for in a quarterback, and I think he has it at an early stage. 

“We have to rattle him as much as possible, have bodies around him, be in his face and make it uncomfortable. At the same time, you have to keep eyes on him and try to keep him in a well because he did have almost 90 scramble yards and that is demoralizing for a defense, especially if the back end’s doing their job.” 

In an effort to jump-start the pass rush without bringing blitzers, Bowen even tried Burns as an inside rusher with Azeez Ouluari opposite Thibodeaux. 

“I feel like the more I fine-tune that, the more I detail that up, the more plays I can make in that area,” Burns said. “There’s definitely plays to be made.” 

For the Giants, Sunday wouldn’t be a moment too soon.