
Shortly after the New York Giants completed a historic collapse during their 33-32 loss at the Denver Broncos this past Sunday, Giants pass-rusher Brian Burns seemed to voice his frustrations regarding how defensive coordinator Shane Bowen handled the game's last drive.
Giants linebacker and team captain Bobby Okereke later insisted he and his teammates "100 percent" still supported Bowen. While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Burns revealed that the viral clip showed his reaction to Broncos quarterback Bo Nix connecting with wide receiver Marvin Mims for a 29-yard gain that helped Denver get into position to kick a walk-off game-winning field goal.
"Coming right off the field, I got a lot of emotions going on," Burns explained, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN. "What I was referring to is the fact that we had a call specifically to take away that play and the fact that Nix wasn't even trying to throw it to Mims and it just so happened to be completed. It was kind of a disbelief. Like, bro, there's no way that we dropped eight and still couldn't stop that ball from getting completed. That's more so where my frustration lied. It wasn't nothing towards the [play] call."
Bowen previously came under fire after the Giants played a soft zone late in their Week 2 game at the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys' offense took advantage and drove down the field before Brandon Aubrey made a game-tying 64-yard field goal at the end of regulation. Dallas ultimately won in overtime.
Meanwhile, head coach Brian Daboll confirmed on Monday that he would not make any major changes to his staff ahead of the Giants' game at the Philadelphia Eagles (5-2) this coming Sunday.
Nix to Mims! A FG will win it
— NFL (@NFL) October 19, 2025
NYGvsDEN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/jKlRL6GLOe
"Everybody talks and has their own opinion, you know what I'm saying?" Burns added. "However you view it, whatever your perspective is, I respect your perspective, you can have that, but we are bought in [to Bowen] and that call was perfect for that situation just because it was 30 seconds left, no timeouts. Catch, tackle, game over. But that ball was never supposed to be completed. ...It was just unlucky."
That's all well and good, but calls from fans for the club to move on from Bowen will only grow louder if the 2-5 Giants suffer a blowout loss at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field this weekend. As of Thursday morning, ESPN BET had the Giants as 7.5-point underdogs for that matchup.
"[Bowen is] relentless and we just have to execute," Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II added. "Whatever he calls out there, we just have to execute it to the best of our abilities. That is the main message for me to everybody as well, just executing and being in on your keys and knocking them out."
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