New York Giants edge rusher Brian Barnes joined an elite group Sunday when he sacked Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in the first quarter.
This was Barnes’ eighth sack of the season, making him the eighth player in NFL history to have at least 7.5 sacks in each of his first six seasons.
But it didn’t come without a price. Shortly after, Barnes was nearly taken down by a blindside hit by Ravens strong offensive tackle Daniel Faalele.
Brian Burns was completely destroyed on a reverse scramble by Daniel Faalele. He seems fine on the sideline, but I’ve never seen a block from a 6-8, 380-pound player.
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) December 15, 2024
Barnes said he was “a little devastated” after the game, but that hit didn’t end his day. The Pro Bowler was then able to get a few plays back to end the game, but make no mistake, the bell rang.
“Yes, he lined me up. I was looking at Lamar trying to get out. Yeah, he just blindsided me,” Burns told reporters.
“If he wanted to hit me harder, I think he probably wanted to hit me harder because I wasn’t looking. But I still felt it. Yeah. Football.”
The Giants’ pride was seriously hurt by their nine consecutive losses. Barnes knows what kind of loss comes from the Carolina Panthers, who drafted him in the first round in 2019.
During his five seasons in Carolina, the Panthers never won more than seven games in a season and had double-digit losses each year.
Asked what the atmosphere was like in the locker room after the Giants’ 35-14 loss to Baltimore, Barnes said, “I don’t know.” “I didn’t really talk much after this game. I’ll probably feel better on Monday.”
Well, Monday is here and things don’t look too good.
