Giants defense is driving force behind three-game win streak

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Rookie quarterbackTommy DeVito may be the face of the New York Giants' sudden turnaround -- his pinched fingers celebration a symbol of the fun it has been -- but behind it all is the Giants' defense, which is making all this possible by forcing turnovers at a rapid rate.

The Giants have 12 takeaways the past three games, all wins. Eleven of those turnovers have come courtesy of the defense, including an interception by rookie cornerback Deonte Banks, and a forced fumble by edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux that was recovered by safety Xavier McKinney in Monday night's 24-22 win over the Green Bay Packers. Benton Whitley also recovered a fumble on a punt return.

"Effort is a lot of it," coach Brian Daboll said. "Again, coverage and front tie together. Look, we need to try to keep doing this."

The Giants will likely need to continue creating turnovers at this pace in order to remain in the NFC playoff picture. All four of their remaining opponents are in the playoff race.

The Giants (5-8) are one game back of five teams for the final wild-card spot in the NFC. They play on the road Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, who are middle-of-the-road in turnovers (17) this season, though quarterback Derek Carr has thrown seven interceptions on the season.

That is notable, considering defensive coordinator Wink Martindale's unit is on a heater. Nine of the Giants' 13 interceptions this season have come in the past four games. Nineteen of their 22 takeaways have come over the last nine games.

It's not a coincidence.

"I think it's guys taking advantage of the situations," Martindale said. "They're becoming better finishers with the football and you can see everybody else -- like [McKinney] has punched the ball out, we've talked about [linebacker] Bobby [Okereke] punching the ball out, now you have [cornerback Cor'Dale] Flott in the Washington game punching the ball out right at the right time and things like that we're doing more often.

"The interceptions, they've been good plays. Guys are studying, communicating so much better the last month. It has been fun to watch."

The Giants players are buying into this becoming part of their identity. It starts with Okereke, who is responsible for six turnovers (two interceptions, four forced fumbles) this season. Thibodeaux, last year's first-round pick, also has three forced fumbles to go with his 11.5 sacks.

Everyone else is forced to follow.

"I think it's just a competitive mindset that you have or develop," defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence said. "As you continue to get more, your confidence starts to grow in that area. I even say I want a turnover, or help create a turnover, whether that is creating pressure or forcing a fumble. We know what it takes to win a game and turnovers is what it takes."

It's not an accident Okereke, the team's big free-agent signing this offseason, is so adept at taking the ball away from the opponent, particularly with his ability to punch the ball free. There is a skill to it. He's talked in the past about learning that skill from his former teammate in Indianapolis, Shaquille Leonard.

Thibodeaux also likes to attack the ball.

"He has that knack," Martindale said. "To me, he's a finisher at that football, whether it's a strip-sack or the play you saw on Monday night."

The Giants are a plus-6 in turnover margin this season. Their 22 takeaways is tied with this week's opponent, the Saints, for fifth in the NFL.

It makes life a lot easier for their offense, even if DeVito is outplaying expectations. During the current win streak, 41 of the Giants' 65 points have come off turnovers.

Rather than needing to consistently put together long drives, they're often just asked to get points on short fields. That may be the only recipe to success when you have the league's 31st-ranked offense in yards and points.

"Oh, it's huge. It gives the offense a tremendous advantage, the whole team an advantage," DeVito said. "Offensively, we need to capitalize more off of them, get some more points out of it. But they did a tremendous job, whether that's if their offense gets good field position holding them to three or nothing, and then just giving us good field position...Whatever it is, it's just all very beneficial for our team."

This team is now in an unorthodox spot. The Giants are in the playoff picture while simultaneously slated to pick eighth in next year's draft if the season ended today. A victory Sunday in New Orleans would set the stage for a crucial Christmas Day game in Philadelphia against the Eagles next Monday night.

It's still a longshot that the Giants reach the playoffs. They're underdogs in New Orleans and are likely to be underdogs in each of their final four games. ESPN Analytics puts their odds at just 0.4% to reach the postseason, despite being just one game back of the Saints, Packers, Los Angeles Rams, Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks.

Then again, nobody would have predicted this three-game winning streak with DeVito at quarterback while creating 12 turnovers in the process.