'Nicked up' Dexter Lawrence was off field for overtime touchdown in Giants loss to Lions

On the first play of overtime, Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs took an up-the-middle handoff and ran 69 yards untouched through the Giants' defense to the end zone for what would be a game-winning touchdown to doom New York to another 4th quarter collapse and a 34-27 defeat.

"They blitzed," Gibbs said after the game. "We ran into pressure, [the offensive line] picked it up like it's nothing.

... I didn't have to do too much, just run."

Noticeable in who wasn't on the field for Gibbs' second long touchdown of the day - his first went for 49 yards, giving him 219 on the ground on 15 carries for the day - was Giants all-pro defensive tackleDexter Lawrence.

After the game, interim head coach Mike Kafka said Lawrence's absence was due to injury.

"Dex is battling for us," Kafka said. He got a little nicked for us. So, he was battling. He gave us everything he had for as many plays as we could possibly get him in there.

But there was a management part of that to make sure we could maximize him in certain situations - 3rd downs, things like that where his pass rush could be in effect. So, he wasn't out there for that 1st down."

Lawrence was credited with one tackle, one QB hit in the game, and had a great pass rush leading to Darius Alexander's second sack of the game, but he played just 33 of 65 snaps, well below his normal playing time of around 70 percent.

They were just allowing me to get in on third down and get some good rushes," Lawrence told reporters after the game about his overtime absence. As a competitor, I always want to be out on the field, but I understood the process and the game plan. And I trust it."

Kafka didn't indicate when Lawrence suffered the nick' that limited him, adding that he would have come in had the Lions' first drive gone beyond the one play, but said he was battling it throughout the game."

I think it kind of flared up a little bit more in the fourth quarter," the head coach said.

Lawrence said he began to feel the ailment, which went undescribed, during the first quarter, but said he didn't think this was an injury that could impact his availability in the long term. Just nicked up," he said. Nothing serious."

On the touchdown run itself, Kafka said he would have to "look at the tape" to get a better understanding of what went wrong on the defensive side of things.

"Didn't know exactly what happened as a result of that run. Probably looking at, 'Were the fits right on it?'" the coach said. "But [Gibbs is] a good player. We knew he was going to get in some space, and they were going to give him some opportunities. We had to figure out a way to rally him up, and that one he got us."

Kafka backs defensive coordinator

After the Giants' defense allowed 17 points on the Lions' final four possessions in the 4th quarter and OT of Sunday's loss - holding them to a three-and-out on the one drive that began inside New York territory - Kafka was again asked about defensive coordinator Shane Bowen's job security.

Asked if he had full confidence in the DC, he answered, "Yeah, I do. I have a lot of confidence in Shane and his entire staff."

Big Blue's defense performed well at the start, forcing back-to-back punts as the offense built a 10-0 first-quarter lead. But 17 points before the half cut the lead to three before Jevon Holland made a big play with an interception late in the third quarter.

Overall, New York surrendered 279 yards in the air and two touchdowns but got three sacks on Jared Goff and limited him to a 20.7 (out of 100) QBR. However, the 237 yards on 20 carries (11.9 per rush) from Gibbs and David Montgomery on the ground killed hopes of ending the Giants' long road losing streak.

"Listen, this is a team game. Everybody's got to work together on it, special teams, offense, defense," Kafka said. "So, there's not one group. It's all of us. It's the players, it's the coaches, it's the staff, it's the whole organization finding a way to win.

"And so, we've got to find ways to get better, find a way to create an edge for ourselves, and that's what we're going to do. Myself, I'm going to evaluate everything. Across the board, where can we find an edge to go win a football game? That's where we're at right now."