Dexter Lawrence: 'Nothing Better' Than Giants' Home Win Potential

"You've got to know what your next opportunity is, and our next opportunity is Sunday night at home," Lawrence said. "The goal is to win our first game of the season at home; nothing would be better."

Anyone who wished for the Giants to have the same record as the Chiefs is certainly wondering what cursed entity granted such a double-edged request: Kansas City dropped its opener against the Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paulo before the Philadelphia Eagles took them down at Arrowhead Stadium in a Super Bowl LIX rematch shortly after the Giants endured their defeat in Dallas.

Following the loss to the Eagles in February's Big Game in New Orleans, the Chiefs are now trapped in their first three-game losing streak since 2017.

As if that's not motivation enough, Kansas City, while shorthanded, will still be trouble when it walks in thanks to the efforts of Marquise Brown, Kareem Hunt, Travis Kelce, Isaiah Pacheco, and Tyquan Thornton.

It's a hefty order for a Giants defense reeling in its own right, but Lawrence is confident that it's the Giants' own self-inflicted errors that stand as their biggest obstacle. New York lost 160 yards through excessive yellow flags,

"Penalties, too many penalties, that's [it]," Lawrence said when asked if the Giants' problems go deeper than the infractions.  

Some of the penalties resulted from the defense being aggressive, which Lawrence said they plan to continue, but in a more measured way.

“You don't shy away from being aggressive. You don't shy away from playing the type of brand of football you want to play,” he said. 

“Penalties may happen, they may not happen. It all depends on what someone sees and what they feel. You know what I'm saying? You’ve just got to keep playing your game, and if they call it, they do. If they don't, then they don't.” 

It would also help things tremendously if Lawrence, who has had a quiet start to his season, got back on track to being the dominant player he’s been in the past. 

He and his fellow pass rushers will look to up their own numbers in the pressure game: New York has put up the fourth-most sacks in the league at six through two games, but it ranks in the lower half of hurry rate and fifth-to-last in pressure percentage (13.7 percent).

The Giants’ defensive captain wouldn’t make excuses for his sluggish start, but it’s certainly fair to wonder if it’s due to his not getting any preseason game snaps.

Regardless, Lawrence knows what he has to do come Sunday night.

“I know I’ve got to be at my best, and I will be at my best Sunday night, and I'll be ready,” he vowed.