Giants Defensive Coordinator Shane Bowen Reveals His Unit's Biggest Worry

And no, it's not the team's struggling offense.

Jul 24, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen looks on during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Facility. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

It would be far too easy for the New York Giants defense, which has been playing solid ball of late, to look at the other side of the ball where the offense has struggled to score and develop some resentment.

But Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said that is far from the case for the simple reason that the defense, despite ranking in the top half of the league in the macro categories (10th overall, 15th against the run, 12th against the pass, first in sacks, 11th in third—and fourth-down conversions allowed, and third in goal-to-go), still has its own stuff to focus on. 

“Yeah, believe me, we got enough in our house to worry about, I promise you,” Bowen said Thursday. 

The thorn in Bowen’s side has been the game-changing big plays. Referring to the team’s most recent game, a 17-7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Bowen cited Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s 47-yard scramble, a 3rd-and-12 conversion, and the late-game touchdown that gave the Bengals their final points of the night.

“We're always coaching, we got enough to worry about and focus on making sure our guys are ready to go and can play. And, again, just doing our part, make plays when they're there, find ways to change the game when we have the opportunities to change the game,” he said.

The Giants’ defense has allowed just 20.2 points per game, tied for ninth lowest average points allowed in the league. They have held every opponent faced this season to well under their average points scored per game.

But it’s mostly gone for naught thanks to the offense’s inability to score points. The Giants are averaging 16 points per game, fourth fourth-lowest average in the league. And that has led to what some consider to be wasted stellar efforts by the defense.

But again, Bowen doesn’t see it that way given how he’s focused on improving in some areas, such as turnovers, where the Giants have an interception rate of 0.54%, 31st in the league. Creating turnovers and giving the offense a short field to the offense is something Bowen admitted was high atop his to-do list for his defense.

“We got enough to worry about,” he stressed. “Believe me, especially week to week with some of these teams we're playing, with this Eagles team we're playing this weekend.”

Besides worrying about running back Saquon Barkley and the damage he has shown himself capable of inflicting on opponents, Bowen is losing sleep over the rest of the Eagles' playmakers, including their receivers and quarterback Jalen Hurts, another mobile quarterback capable of doing damage with his legs.

“Obviously, we've struggled with some of these guys running the ball on us. On critical downs and third down, we're going to have to do a good job trying to keep him in the pocket, and hopefully, he doesn't get out and hurt us with his legs in the passing game,” Bowen said of Hurts. 

“But they're talented. They're going to find ways to get the playmakers the ball. They got a lot of them over there. We're going to have to do a good job being locked in. It's a bit different animal because of the run game, what they can do in the run game, and how they're structured upfront. 

“Obviously, with Saquon and then you add in those guys on the perimeter, it's a little bit different animal than some of these other teams we've faced up to this point.” 

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