B.J. is best of battered
ARLINGTON, Tex. — The Giants have been searching for an impact linebacker for a while now. They may have finally found one in B.J. Goodson. Goodson was one of the lone bright spots in Big Blue’s disheartening 19-3 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday night at AT&T Stadium, finishing with a staggering 18 tackles — including one for a loss. His highlight play of the evening came when he blew up a screen pass to Ezekiel Elliot. “Honestly, that’s not even what’s on my mind,” Goodson said of his individual performance. “It doesn’t matter.” So what does? “I know the team that we have, and what we’re capable of,” Goodson said. “We have to get back to work and get better.”
Goodson, 24, a fourthround pick out of Clemson in the 2016 draft, had just nine tackles and two forced fumbles all of last season, as he played sparingly during his rookie campaign. But after a standout preseason, he delivered in Week 1, making so many plays that All-Pro safety Landon Collins finished with just five tackles.
“We all had confidence in B.J. from watching how he worked, how he performed in practice and even in the preseason,” said Olivier Vernon, who recorded the defense’s only sack.“We knew what we were going to see from B.J.”
As a defense, the Giants allowed just one touchdown, but were clearly gassed at the end of the first half due to the Odell Beckham-less offense being unable to move the ball.
“I thought the defense had some decent moments in there,” Ben McAdoo said. “They were physical. They competed their tails off just like everybody did. There was no lack of effort out there tonight, but you know, the defense has to get off the field.”
Big Blue’s D was on the field for 34 minutes, 14 seconds — compared to 25 minutes, 46 seconds for the O. And despite playing valiantly as a unit, it failed to record any takeaways.
“At some point (we were gassed), but you’ve got to suck it up,” said Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. “You can’t even think about that. You have to find a way to get off the field, and I don’t think we got off the field enough.”
Added Jonathan Casillas: