While everyone was marveling over Isaiah Simmons’ blocked field goal, which was returned for a touchdown that inevitably sealed the deal in the New York Giants Week 5 upset win over the Seattle Seahawks, there is another storyline coming out of this game. New York’s pass rush was able to get to Seahawks quarterback, Geno Smith, seven times.

This isn’t just one game in which the defense was able to apply immense pressure, as the Giants have built their identity around this pass rush over the course of the last five weeks. In fact, New York leads the NFL in sacks at the moment with 22. That is the second most through five games in Giants franchise history (1985 holds the record), and the third most through five games in the entire NFL over the last 15 seasons.

Looking at the games that the Giants have played so far this season, they have been consistently getting to opposing quarterbacks.

Week 1 vs Minnesota Vikings: 1 sack

Week 2 vs Washington Commanders: 5 sacks

Week 3 vs Cleveland Browns: 8 sacks

Week 4 vs Dallas Cowboys: 1 sack

Week 5 vs Seattle Seahawks: 7 sacks

It makes sense that New York’s pass rush is this dominant considering the fact that in terms of total contract money, their pass rushers are paid roughly $300,000,000 all together ($297,007,773 to be exact). The two biggest contracts on the team go towards edge rusher, Brian Burns, and nose tackle, Dexter Lawrence II. Burns was given a five-year, $141,000,000 contract by the Giants over the offseason, making him the third highest-paid edge rusher in the NFL. Lawrence’s was a four-year, $87,500,000 deal; this makes him the ninth highest-paid defensive tackle in the league. There’s also the case of Kayvon Thibodeaux, a former first-round pick back in 2022, that got a four-year, $31.3 million contract.

Together, these three have been wreaking havoc on opposing offensive lines. Currently speaking, Lawrence has the second most sacks in the NFL by a single player with six in five games. That would also be two and a half sacks more than the next defensive tackle on this year’s list. This comes as he has seen a double-team rate of 65.3% according to Pro Football Focus. As a nose tackle (who are known for stopping the run), Lawrence is on pace for 20.5 sacks, 55 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, and 78 pressures. This would be arguably the greatest season by a defensive tackle in NFL history, and would guarantee him the Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Brian Burns has been dominant as well while coming off the edge. Through five games, his two sacks (one forced fumble) might not look like much on paper, but he has been more than impactful for the Giants. Burns ranks second in “time to pressure”, and is ninth in total pressures among the entire NFL. He also has five pass deflections over the last four games, which is incredibly uncommon for a player at his position.

His fourth-down sack on Geno Smith in Week 5 was arguably the most important play of this season for the Giants, aside from the obvious field goal block at the end of the game. He is proving exactly why Giants General Manager, Joe Schoen, traded for him and immediately gave him a hefty contract.

Other players on the team are getting sacks as well such as Kayvon Thibodeaux who was mentioned earlier, and Azeez Ojulari, who has stepped into a more “rotational” role. This could be the money that New York spent on these players paying off, or it could also be the addition of new Defensive Coordinator, Shane Bowen.

Bowen’s introduction of a 4-3 style defense into this unit has worked wonders so far this year. He’s been a genius when it comes to disguising blitzes with his linebackers, and lining up safeties at the line. This, of course, leaves the secondary exposed quite a bit, which is a position that the Giants have proven to be weaker in, but their pass rush is making it difficult for quarterbacks to take deep shots down the field.

It’s been confirmed that Kayvon Thibodeaux is now considered “week to week” as he just received surgery for a wrist injury that happened against the Seahawks. While this is a huge blow for an elite unit, there’s a “next man up” mentality. Aforementioned Azeez Ojulari will get the starting spot next to Burns and Lawrence, during the Giants Week 6 primetime matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. It’s never been a matter of production with Ojulari, as he’s averaging around half a sack per game in his career, but more a matter of health. He’s missed countless games with various injuries, so he’s always a huge question mark, but if he can stay on the field for the next two to four weeks, this pass rush is going to remain dominant.

There’s still a lot of season left to be played, but the Giants have figured out how to win, and that is by making opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable. There have been a few historical defensive line units throughout the franchise history of the Giants; perhaps the NFL world is looking at another one.