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How is Shane Bowen still the Giants’ defensive coordinator?

Shane Bowen Giants
Jul 24, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen looks on during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive end Brian Burns was inconsolable as he walked down the tunnel and to the New York Giants’ visiting locker room at Empower Field on Sunday evening. 

His team blew leads of 19-0 at the start of the fourth quarter and 26-8 with under six minutes to go, allowed 33 points in the fourth quarter, and let the Denver Broncos gain 56 yards in 33 seconds to set up the game-winning field goal as time expired — just over a half-minute after rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart appeared to have let his dysfunctional team off the hook with a one-yard score. 

But backup kicker Jude McAtamey missed his second extra point of the game to go up 32-30, and defensive coordinator Shane Bowen did what he continues to do best: Sabotage the Giants when they are in winning positions.

To put into perspective how difficult it was for the Giants to lose that game, NFL teams that had an 18-point lead with under six minutes left in a game had won 1,602 consecutive times.

Not this time, though.

“Stupid a—s s—t,” Burns was caught yelling. “Dropping eight in coverage.”

Burns was referring to Bowen’s befuddling play-calling. On a day in which the Giants’ pass rush was a force in the opening three quarters, featuring a pair of sacks, endless pressure, and numerous Bo Nix passes batted down at the line of scrimmage.

But they were put on a leash down the stretch, particularly on the Broncos’ final drive, which began on their own 29-yard line with 33 seconds left. Bowen opted to rush just three and drop eight men back in coverage. It gave Nix all day to throw, and he hooked up with Denzel Mims down the middle for a 29-yard gain to get into Giants territory. 

By then, the damage was done. Nix hit Courtland Sutton over fledgling backup cornerback Deonte Banks, who was stepping in for the injured Paulson Adebo, for 22 yards, and Denver had all it needed for Lutz’s game-winner. 

It was the second time in seven games this season that Bowen has derailed a Giants’ win, snapping defeat from the jaws of victory. 

In Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys, after Russell Wilson hit Malik Nabers for a 42-yard touchdown with 25 seconds left in the game to go up 40-37, Bowen played that signature and putrid prevent defense that allowed the Cowboys to snag a last-second field goal to force overtime and eventually win the game. 

Old habits die hard, it appears. 

“I think right now, it’s just really frustrating,” Dart, who almost won his third game in four tries in spite of his horrid coaching staff, said. “I’m trying to put it all together. We had chances to win the game, and we didn’t do it. It’s frustrating.”

The Giants are now 2-5. They realistically could be 4-3 with a defensive coordinator who knew what he was doing in the fourth quarter.

For more on Shane Bowen and the Giants, visit AMNY.com