Abdul Carter and John Harbaugh aren’t daunted about the 2026 New York Giants heading into the nightmare portion of their schedule off the back of a loss in the NFC East. Instead, edge-rusher Carter and his head coach have sent a strong warning to the NFL’s “so-called heavyweights.”
Carter spoke up immediately after the Giants were beaten 24-21 at MetLife Stadium by the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football. The untimely reversal ate into the Giants’ commanding lead in the division, ahead of a stretch of five games against teams with winning records.
The challenge isn’t intimidating to Carter. He told reporters, including Dan Duggan of The Athletic, the Giants “want all the smoke with all those teams. We’re not ducking no smoke. Everybody’s going to get our best. There’s no team that we’re looking at like, ‘Oh, my goodness.’ No. We’re going to play every team the same way.”
That’s a boldly defiant take when the Giants are next slated to host the 6-2, AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars. Two weeks later, Carter and Co. begin a double-header against NFC West powerhouses the San Francisco 49ers and the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
It’s a tough run, even for a 5-3-1 team, but Carter’s refusal to be intimidated by the schedule is shared by Harbaugh. The 63-year-old emphatically stated, “We don’t live in that scared world. The so-called heavyweights, I’ve seen them play bad games too Nobody is gonna outfight us. Nobody is going to out-compete us,” per NorthJersey.com’s Art Stapleton.
John Harbaugh: “We don’t live in that scared world.”
“The so-called heavyweights, I’ve seen them play bad games too.”
“Nobody is gonna
That’s a timely rallying call from Harbaugh, but it will take more than hustle for the Giants to remain competitive during the upcoming stretch. Harbaugh and his staff must fix some of the obvious flaws exposed by the Commanders.
Including an underlying issue with Carter that’s not going away.
Abdul Carter Needs More Than Words to Prove His Point
Carter’s been content to downplay his and the Giants’ general lack of sacks, but his defiance about this problem is ringing hollow. Especially after the Giants’ pass rush barely laid a glove on Commanders’ star quarterback Jayden Daniels at MetLife Stadium.
Daniels “was pressured on 17.9% of his dropbacks Thursday– the 2nd-lowest pressure % faced in his career (with a minimum of 3 dropbacks), per ESPN’s John Keim, citing ESPN Research.
Carter wasn’t getting free from either edge. That’s a problem, despite Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus crediting Carter with the second-highest WAR (wins above replacement) tally among edge-rushers this season.
Locker noted “Carter has furthered his stardom by developing even more in his sophomore campaign, with his 82.5 PFF pass-rush grade the fifth-best among his counterparts.”
Stats like these are at the root of the idea that Carter should be judged differently than pass-rushers who’ve collected more sacks. It’s an idea endorsed by a two-time Super Bowl winner.
Stapleton concurs, lamenting how “The lack of mainstream attention for defensive metrics vs old school production has far too many calling Carter a bust. Yes, OG production is always the goal and you want it – need it – now. Not an excuse. Just these stats are not embraced by all.”
Hidden metrics do Carter a favor, but fans are hard to fool. They want to see more sacks, more forced fumbles, and more splash plays to change momentum in close games.
It’s not a lot to ask from the third player selected in the 2025 NFL draft. Particularly when Carter faces potential NFL MVPs, Jags’ QB Trevor Lawrence and Niners’ passer Brock Purdy. Not to mention trying to corral Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions’ offense in Week 16.
Carter will need to up his game during the upcoming rough run, but he can also be helped by some better coaching decisions.
John Harbaugh, Giants’ Coaches Need New Ideas
Harbaugh and his chief assistants must make the Giants less predictable when they take the field against stronger teams. The Giants were well-scouted by the Commanders, who exploited both sides of the ball in crucial moments.
Arguably the most important occurred when Washington rookie linebacker Sonny Styles sniffed out a designed quarterback run by J.J. McCarthy, on third-and-short when the Giants were trying to ice the game.
Styles knew what was coming because the Giants did something similar when the two teams first met in Week 5. Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy repeated the trick, much to the dismay of their starting running back.
If they couldn’t fool the Commanders, Harbaugh and Nagy won’t impress the Seahawks’ awesome defense. Nor the Cleveland Browns’ tough unit in Week 15.
It wasn’t just the Commanders’ defense that had a read on what the Giants would do after the snap. Washington’s offense knew how to beat the blitz pressures and man coverage favored by Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson.
Daniels knew he had a mismatch when Dru Phillips played man against Stefon Diggs in the slot. It was an easy read and a quick throw for the winning touchdown.
WASvsNYG on Prime Stream on @NFLPlus
The Giants were at once too creative and not creative enough in different phases during critical moments. Play-calling like transparent and erratic this won’t fly against the 49ers, Seahawks and Lions.
Harbaugh needs smarter situational awareness from Nagy and Wilson. Both play-callers will need better execution from key players like McCarthy and Carter.
Fixing those things is how these Giants survive the toughest part of their schedule.
Giants’ Abdul Carter, John Harbaugh Warn NFL ‘Heavyweights’