Opportunity knocked and Azeez Ojulari answered.
In his first start and most extensive action of the season, Ojulari notched four tackles and two sacks (and should’ve added a third) Sunday night in the Giants’ first game since starting outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux underwent wrist surgery and landed on injured reserve.
But it wasn’t enough to prevent the Giants from losing, 17-7, to the Bengals at MetLife Stadium.
“I thought Azeez was electric,” linebacker Bobby Okereke. “We all have a lot of faith in Azeez, and his pass-rush ability is very strong. We have a next-man-up mentality at every position, and Azeez just fulfilled that.”
Ojulari had the right approach to the offseason decision to replace him as the starter opposite Thibodeaux with prize trade acquisition Brian Burns.
Instead of angrily demanding a trade or sulking his way to regression in the final year of his contract, Ojulari tried to find ways to stay healthy, learn tricks from the two-time Pro Bowler Burns and prove that he still is capable of being as productive as he was early in his career before a slew of injuries mounted.
Both of Ojulari’s sacks came on the Bengals’ final drive of the first half, when only two first downs would’ve set up a reasonable field-goal attempt. He also crashed into running back Zack Moss on a potentially points-saving play when Okereke stripped the ball and Micah McFadden recovered a fumble.
“I tried to come in, execute the game plan to the best of my ability and help us win,” Ojulari said. “But we fell short. Left a lot of plays out there, for sure.”
Before either of his sacks, Ojulari went for a strip sack but lost his footing and his hold on Joe Burrow, who slipped away to throw an incompletion.
“Burrow is elusive,” Ojulari said. “When you get there, you have to really get him down.”
Ojulari was averaging a career-low 23 defensive snaps over the first five games compared to Thibodeaux’s 48 and Burns’ 52. Various calf, hip, ankle and hamstring injuries caused him to miss 16 of 34 games the past two seasons.
He added yoga to his offseason routine as he tried to crack the code to health. So far, so good.
“Azeez always showed flashes of what he can do when he got in there,” Burns said. “It’s unfortunate that Thibs went down, but I knew Azeez was ready so I’m not surprised by it.”
Ojulari, who had 13.5 sacks in his first 24 career games but 3.5 in the next 16, will have at least three more opportunities to start while Thibodeaux is sidelined.
If he continues to play well and the Giants hang around the playoff picture, Ojulari will open up new possibilities for defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.
If he continues to play well and the Giants keep losing, Ojulari could be a possible 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 whom third-year general manager Joe Schoen did not either acquire or re-sign.