James Bradberry touts Giants defense: ‘Don’t play for the offense’

The stench of the Giants’ offense is so powerful that it still could cross the line of scrimmage and permeate the locker room.

Cornerback James Bradberry continued his season-long act Sunday of walking a fine line between shading the offense but biting his tongue to stop short of publicly criticizing his teammates.

“I take pride in taking the field and making plays for this team,” Bradberry said after a 29-3 loss to the hapless Bears. “I made an interception today. Wish I could’ve made more plays. That’s our mindset. I’m worried about the defense. I don’t play for the offense. I play on defense.”

Head coach Joe Judge certainly would rather not hear that offense-defense distinction no matter how much truth it carries.

Judge delivered an 11-minute postgame “all-in-this-together” soliloquy about building a unified foundation that he claims others told him was missing from the Giants before his arrival. Does Bradberry see signs of life — not signs of quit — from the Giants despite a 4-12 record with one week left?

James Bradberry
James Bradberry
USA TODAY Sports

“I think it shows in our play, especially as a defense,” Bradberry said. “Late in the fourth quarter, we made an interception, a game-changing play. We’re going to fight to the end and try to keep that energy going. We’re still out there trying to make plays no matter the score.”

Since quarterback Daniel Jones was injured, the Giants have scored one touchdown in 18 competitive quarters over five games, excluding results in the fourth quarters against the Chargers and Eagles after falling behind by 30 points. They have led for less than 16 of a possible 300 minutes — by no more than three points — but bottomed out with negative 10 net passing yards against the Bears.

“I just want to see effort and us fighting to win the game,” Bradberry said. “We fought on defense and made plays. Unfortunately, we came up on the short end of the stick.”

The Bears led 14-0 after seven minutes on the back of two touchdown drives totaling 26 yards. The first two of quarterback Mike Glennon’s four turnovers put the defense in the near-impossible positions of starting backed up to its own 2- and 24-yard lines. Anyone who watches the games knew the game was over at 14-0 unless the Giants’ defense scored.

“When we get put in certain situations like that,” Bradberry said, “it’s an opportunity for us to make a stand. That’s our approach when we get on the field.”

The Giants trailed 29-3 late in the third quarter when Bradberry recorded his fourth interception of the season. He tried to rally his teammates for a group celebration but it seemed players wisely had second thoughts given the lopsided score. Back in Week 2, Bradberry had an interception that he thought won a game against Washington, but the offense’s inability to get one first down brought the defense back onto the field for a loss.

“My mindset has always been I’m not able to dictate what happens as far as the scoreboard unless I catch a pick and go score myself,” Bradberry said. “Whether it’s a messed-up position for us on defense or not, I look at it as an opportunity to make a game-changing play and possibly put points on the board.”

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