The opportunity presented itself and Azeez Ojulari answered it.
On Sunday night, in the Giants' first game since outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeau underwent wrist surgery and was placed on injured reserve, Ojulari made his first start and had his most extensive performance of the season, making four tackles and two sacks. (and should have added three sacks). .
But it wasn't enough to prevent the Giants from losing 17-7 to the Bengals at MetLife Stadium.
“I thought Azeez was a great player,” linebacker Bobby Okereke said. “We all have a lot of confidence in Azeez and his pass-rushing ability is very strong. We have a next-man-up mentality at every position, and Azeez did just that.”
Ojulari took the right approach to his offseason decision to replace Thibodeau with Brian Burns, acquired in the prize trade, as the starter.
Instead of angrily demanding a trade or wallowing toward regression in the final year of his contract, Ojulari found a way to stay healthy, learned tricks from Burns, a two-time Pro Bowler, and realized he was still as good as he was. I wanted to prove that I could be productive. He was early in his career before a rash of injuries.
Both of Ojulari's sacks came late in the first half when the Bengals could have gotten two first downs and made a reasonable field goal. Also, when Okereke stole the ball and Micah McFadden recovered a fumble, he collided with running back Zack Moss on a play that could have saved him points.
“I went out there and executed the game plan to the best of my ability and tried to help the team win,” Ojulari said. “But we fell short. We certainly left a lot of plays behind.”
Before either sack, Ojulari went for a strip sack, but lost his footing and was unable to grab Joe Burrow, who slipped out and threw an incompletion.
“Barrow is elusive,” Ojulari said. “Once we get there, we need to beat him once and for all.”
Ojulari averaged a career-low 23 defensive snaps through the first five games, compared to 48 for Thibodeau and 52 for Barnes. He missed 16 of 34 games over the past two seasons due to various calf, hip, ankle and hamstring injuries.
He added yoga to his offseason routine in an attempt to crack the health code. So far, so good.
“Azeez always showed flashes of what he could do when he got in there,” Burns said. “It's disappointing that Thisbus went down, but I'm not surprised because I knew Azeez was ready.”
Ojulari, who had 13.5 sacks in his first 24 games and 3.5 in his next 16, will be given at least three more starts while Thibodeau is out. .
If he continues to play well and the Giants stay in the playoff picture, Ojulari could open up new opportunities for defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.
If he continues to play well and the Giants continue to lose, Ojulari could become a trade chip for draft compensation before the Nov. 5 deadline.
The former second-round draft pick is the only player on the Giants' active roster and practice squad that third-year general manager Joe Schon did not acquire or re-sign.
