Abdul Carter's Fast Start Is No Surprise to Giants Star Brian Burns

15 hours ago

3 min read

Published Oct 30, 2026, 8:14 PM ET | By Vincent Rapisardi

Key points

Brian Burns says Abdul Carter's strong start is no surprise: "I done seen this time and time again in practice."
Burns has been out since tearing his ACL and meniscus in Week 3, leaving Carter as the Giants' top edge rusher.
Carter has two sacks in seven games, but he ranks among the NFL's best edge rushers in win rate and PFF grade.

Brian Burns isn't surprised by anything Abdul Carter is doing. The Giants' veteran pass rusher says he saw this version of Carter long before the rest of the league did.

"He ain't do nothing I ain't never seen before. You feel me?" Burns said, via NFL on ESPN. "I done seen this time and time again in practice. It's just coming. Y'all just now seeing it."

Burns has had to watch from the sideline. He tore his ACL late in the Week 3 win over Tennessee, per Giants.com, and also tore his lateral meniscus, The Athletic reported.

Why Brian Burns' Word Carries Weight

Burns isn't just another teammate. He was a second-team All-Pro in 2025, with career highs of 16.5 sacks and 31 quarterback hits, according to Giants.com.

John Harbaugh called him, "in many ways," the leader of the defense when he confirmed the injury, per the team.

Carter set a high bar for himself, too. His goal in training camp was to "be Defensive Player of the Year, for sure," he told ESPN's Jordan Raanan.

What Abdul Carter Has Done Without Burns

In the first game without him, Carter played 64 of 66 snaps against Arizona, The Athletic's Dan Duggan wrote.

He made it count. Carter posted six pressures and three quarterback hits in the 36-24 win, per that same report.

The next week in Washington, he had a sack and a forced fumble, per ESPN's game log. He then posted six pressures and a 90.9 PFF grade in the overtime win at Houston.

He tied for first among edge rushers in ESPN's pass rush win rate through Week 6. He also ranked third at the position in PFF's overall grade, as tracked on our Giants PFF grades page.

By the Numbers: Abdul Carter in 2026

Measure	Carter	Note
Sacks	2	Seven games
Tackles	18	Six solo
Forced fumbles	1	Week 5 at WSH
Pressures vs. Arizona	6	First game without Burns
Pressures at Houston	6	90.9 PFF grade

Sources: ESPN game log, The Athletic via NFL.com and PFF, as of Oct. 30, 2026.

Are the Sacks Coming Next?

The sack total is the one number that hasn't caught up.

At Big Blue View, Anthony Del Genio noted that PFF ranks Carter first among edge rushers on true pass sets. He also cited data showing that the defense does far better on plays when Carter beats his blocker.

That's the "it's just coming" part of Burns' quote. The 4-2-1 Giants come out of their bye Nov. 8 at Philadelphia, with Carter still leading the edge group.

Our Take: Carter's Wins Are Real, but I Still Want Sacks

I've been on record wanting more from Carter. In September, I wrote that I love the analytics of a pass rusher. But five sacks in 20 career games wasn't good enough, and I wanted more disruption.

He's given them a lot more disruption since then. Six pressures against Arizona, six more at Houston and a top-three PFF grade at his position are real numbers. Two sacks in seven games is the one that still isn't.

Burns has seen Carter every day in practice, so I'm not going to argue with him about what's coming.

My standard hasn't changed, though. Elite draft capital was used on Carter, and the sack production wasn't good enough in September. If Burns is right, the second half is when those wins turn into sacks.

Want more Giants coverage? Catch up on all of our latest articles here on the site, and follow @BigBlueFilmRoom on X for every Giants update as it breaks.

About Big Blue Film Room: Big Blue Film Room is an independent New York Giants news site delivering daily news, injury updates and game recaps. We credit and link to the original reporting behind every story, and we correct errors promptly under our Editorial Standards. Learn more about who we are and how we report on our About page.