The Giants are heading into their matchup with Washington with a few of the week’s loudest headlines centered on their young defense and one of their most dynamic offensive weapons.
Abdul Carter isn’t losing sleep over the fact that he has only one sack through four games this season, or five through his first 21 NFL games. The Giants outside linebacker said the pressure he creates matters just as much, if not more.
“I do think sacks are overrated,” Carter told NJ.com. “Obviously, it looks the best - getting to the quarterback and getting that negative play.
But at the same time, when you hit a quarterback, they feel it. They don’t want to get hit.
It forces them to make quick decisions, and they might throw a turnover.
That same Giants pass-rush group got more recognition elsewhere this week, with ESPN Insider praising Carter and Reese.
Reese, meanwhile, was also named the NFL’s Rookie of the Week by PFF after a strong showing that showed up all over the field. He made noise in coverage, where four of his five tackles that led to a defensive stop came after the catch as he closed on receivers quickly and decisively. He also held up against the run, winning multiple snaps even when he didn’t finish the play with the tackle.
ESPN’s quarter-season awards had even more praise for Reese, slotting the Giants linebacker/edge at No. 1 in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. The writeup called Reese “very scary,” noted that he has been on the field for more than 99% of the Giants’ defensive snaps, and pointed out that he has started the year mostly as an off-ball linebacker while leading the league in solo tackles with 27.
With Brian Burns lost for the season to a torn ACL, the Giants used Reese more at the line of scrimmage against the Cardinals in Week 4. He played more than 46% of his defensive snaps as an edge defender, up from 34% over the first three weeks.
Against Arizona, he logged his third tackle for loss, batted down a pass and intercepted a deflection at the line. He also got pressure on a blitz from the second level that hit Jacoby Brissett as he threw, leading to a Greg Newsome II interception on an underthrown ball.
ESPN said the Giants probably don’t beat Arizona without Reese being the best player on the field.
On the offensive side, Malik Nabers drew another round of attention, this time from Matt Nagy, who compared the Giants receiver’s talent and personality to Travis Kelce.
“I was around a very similar player talent-wise and person-wise in Travis Kelce,” Nagy said before Thursday’s practice. “He was a guy who wanted the ball a lot, and he had great ways on how to let you know how to do it.”
Nagy also said he liked the way Nabers pushed for the ball, as long as it was handled the right way. He pointed to Nabers as one of the most talented players he has ever been around and added that he is among the most competitive, saying, “Don’t ever take that away from a player.
You are crazy if you take that away from somebody. Don’t ever try to not get him the football.”
The Giants’ quarterback situation also remains part of the week’s bigger picture. The Athletic listed New York as the NFL team most impacted by injuries in 2026, citing the loss of starting quarterback Jaxson Dart for the season and noting that the team’s ceiling looks much different with Jameis Winston or J.J.
McCarthy under center. The same piece also pointed to Burns’ season-ending injury as another reason the Giants sit at the top of that list.
Elsewhere, McCarthy received strong marks from Nagy.
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