There has not been much to get excited about when watching the New York Giants during the 2023 season. Their loss to the New York Jets in Week 8 dropped their record to 2-6, likely ending any hopes they had of making the postseason for a second consecutive season.
But, there is one bright spot that the team and their fans can be excited about every week. That is the performance of defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who has cemented his status as arugbaly the best interior defensive lineman in the NFL.
Lawrence is the highest-graded IDL in the NFL this season per PFF with a 92.4. He is the only player at the position with a pass-rushing and run-defense grade better than 80.0 in both categories, recording 92.4 and 84.8 respectively. The pass-rushing grade is No. 1 in the league, while the run-defense is No. 2.
Against the Jets, he showcased those elite talents on a regular basis. The Jets were down numerous offensive linemen in the game, but it likely wouldn’t have mattered who was in front of Lawrence that afternoon; whoever was attempting to block him, he was going to get past.
Just how dominant was Lawrence in the MetLife Bowl? According to PFF Giants on X, formerly known as Twitter, he had 28 pass-rushing snaps from the nose tackle position. He recorded a pressure on 12 of them. The rest of the NFL had only 20 pressures from the nose tackle spot on 251 total pass rushes.
The Jets, like many teams before them, just had no answer for the star defensive tackle. Lawrence, along with Kayvon Thibodeaux and his 3.5 sacks, wreaked havoc all afternoon, leading what has been a resurgent Giants defense the last few weeks.
Those two are the foundation of New York’s front seven and pass rush and have both taken their game to another level this season. Thibodeaux is having a breakout campaign in Year 2 while Lawrence is proving he is worth every dollar the Giants signed him to this offseason.
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