“Tragedy” might be the best way to describe much of the New York Giants’ recent memories, but it’s also all defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence could muster after his most recent defeat.
On Thursday, Lawrence participated in the Pro Bowl Games, a series of events leading up to a flag football finale on Sunday. He happened to fall just short of New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, who took home bragging rights for next season’s preseason “Snoopy Bowl” trash talk.
Now, the video of the Giants star is going viral for how extremely close the Pro Bowl event turned out to be.
Lawrence participated in the “Big Spike,” essentially the football equivalent of the boxing bag arcade game. Contestants spiked the football onto a sensor that then generated a score based on how much power said spike produced.
Williams set a high bar with a top score of 982. In his first attempt, Lawrence just barely missed, posting a 979 score. His second attempt wasn’t as accurate, generating a less impressive 795.
“That’s tragedy, that’s tragedy, that’s tragedy, that’s tragedy,” Lawrence joked.
Lawrence had one compatriot with him in Orlando for the festivities, receiver Malik Nabers. The two are the cornerstones of the franchise, headlining their respective units and proving to be force multipliers. Lawrence is far and away the best pass-rushing nose tackle in the sport, and Nabers saw more targets than everyone but Cincinnati Bengals star Ja’Marr Chase, despite missing two games.
The defensive tackle was having a career year, too, before an elbow injury robbed him of a third consecutive All-Pro selection and Defensive Player of the Year consideration.
In just 12 games, he posted nine sacks and eight tackles for loss – both the best marks of his career – while also forcing a fumble and finding 44 tackles.
Lawrence will look to continue his run of dominance, and be joined by more Pro Bowlers, in 2025.
