Giants defense knows its better than its shown in maddening 0-2 start

Dexter Lawrence, still seething from Sunday’s loss, was ready to go.If he could, the standout defensive tackle would’ve played the Browns on Wednesday.

He didn’t need any more time to stew over the 0-2 start.“Personally, I’m pissed because I hate losing with a passion,” he said.“I take that hard, losing.

I really don’t like it.“For me, it’s just something that I’m not going to keep accepting.I want to see this team grow and be as good as we [look] throughout the week in practice.

It’s just that one day.That Sunday or that Thursday or whatever day.

We’ve got to show up.”He was talking about everyone in blue, but the defense is the side of the ball he can help control, and Sunday’s effort was not good enough.The Giants couldn’t get off the field, allowing a whopping 425 yards of total offense to the Commanders.

While they did well in the red zone — Washington failed to score a touchdown in six trips — it wasn’t nearly enough to offset the other issues.Whether it was yielding 215 rushing yards, allowing the Commanders to convert 7 of 14 third downs that led to a massive disparity in time of possession (37:32 to 22:28) or failing to produce a turnover, the Giants know they have to be much better.

The Commanders, who are far from some offensive juggernaut, scored on every single one of their drives besides a kneel-down before halftime.“I think our attention to detail, especially on defense, wasn’t up to par,” linebacker Bobby Okereke said.“Just the fundamentals and techniques of our job — eyes, hands, feet.

… It’s execution, really.Third-and-long situations, expecting how they’re going to attack us, whether it’s screens, one-on-one matchups, really having an extra heightened sense of focus on third down to get off the field and set our offense up with good field position.”Improving their tackling might be the biggest issue right now.

They were sloppy in that regard against the Commanders.Part of that is c...