Giants Country

Giants Defense Among League Leaders in Alarming Defensive Stat

The New York Giants defense has been alarmingly sloppy in this fundamental skill, and it's hurt them.

Patricia Traina

New York Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen's unit is on pace to pass last year's missed tackles.
New York Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen's unit is on pace to pass last year's missed tackles. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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When the dust settles on the New York Giants’ 2024 season, there will be more than enough blame to go around for what has been a colossal disappointment.

From a performance perspective, one of the most disappointing aspects has been the defense's execution, particularly the alarming number of missed tackles every week. 

According to NFL Pro (NextGen Stats), the Giants have missed tackles at the eighth-highest rate this season (14.3%). 

Pro Football Focus has the Giants down for 146 missed tackles this season (run and pass coverage), just five short of matching last season’s total of 151 and a significant increase from the first year of head coach Brian Daboll’s tenure when the defense only missed 136 tackles. 

This year, five Giants defenders have recorded double-digit missed tackles: linebacker Micah McFadden (16), safety Jason Pinnock (13), linebacker Bobby Okereke (11), cornerback Dru Phillips (10), and safety Tyler Nubin (10).

But it’s not just the missed tackles that have hurt the Giants defense. In failing to execute this very basic football skill, the Giants have also allowed the most yards due to missed tackles (1,040) and are the only team above the 1,000-yard mark this season in that stat. 

Why so many missed tackles? Much like interceptions, each missed tackle often has its own story. 

According to former Giants linebacker Jonathan Casillas, who spoke to the Locked On Giants podcast about the missed tackles by the run defense (79 per PFF),  chalked it up to guys not doing more than their job. 

Casillas said in some instances, a missed tackle could be due to a guy not being able to shed his block in time to get into position to limit a gain. 

In other instances, a player might hesitate, trying to anticipate which direction a ball carrier might take. If one guesses wrong, this can lead to taking an angle that causes them to whiff on the attempt. 

And then there are instances where guys will over pursue or fail to wrap up a ball carrier, especially when trying to bring down bigger and more powerful ball carriers. 

Missed tackles are going to happen even to the best defenses. Still, when a defense has double-digit tackles in eight of its 15 games played (per PFF data), with seven of those double-digit missed tackles coming in losses (and three of those losses seeing the Giants record 14+ missed tackles), it’s certainly not a surprise that the Giants have the record they do.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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