Bobby Okereke Rejects Criticism After 16-Tackle Day in Giants' Season Opener

ARLINGTON, Texas — Bobby Okereke defended his 16-tackle performance in the New York Giants’ 21-6 season-opening loss to the Washington Commanders, saying the quantity and location of his tackles reflected decisive pursuit rather than poor technique.

Okereke finished the game with seven solo tackles and nine assists while the Giants yielded 220 rushing yards. Some social media criticism focused on tackles made downfield rather than at or behind the line of scrimmage, but Okereke disputed that assessment.

"When you’re flying around making tackles, you’re in the game and you’re tackling the ball," Okereke told reporters. "I think the quality tackle is whether you make it or miss it, whether you make the tackle at 10 yards or you make it at 5 or you make the tackle at the line of scrimmage, as long as you are decisive in your pursuit then the tackle opportunity is just wherever it presents itself."

Okereke acknowledged one play he wanted back: a missed fourth-quarter tackle of running back Austin Ekeler, which he said stemmed from taking a peek at quarterback Jayden Daniels and ending up on a poor angle. He also noted frustration at not recording a tackle for loss.

The performance came in Okereke’s first game back from a back injury that sidelined him for the Giants’ final five games of the 2024 season. While Okereke said the team’s result was the primary concern, he added that coming out of the opener healthy and ‘‘flying around’’ provided a measure of personal satisfaction.

Defensive end Chauncey Golston, who spent his first four NFL seasons with the Dallas Cowboys before signing a three-year, $18 million contract with the Giants in free agency, said he had nothing proprietary to share about his former team ahead of New York’s Week 2 matchup with Dallas.

"I don’t really have anything like, ‘Oh, this is going to be our token to winning,’" Golston said. "At the end of the day, we got to line up, play hard and do our job."

First-year Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer, who was the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator from 2018-20, spoke recently about quarterback Russell Wilson’s strengths, calling Wilson "one of the greatest deep-ball throwers I’ve ever been around" and noting his ability to extend plays. The comment followed leaguewide attention on Dallas’ offensive identity under new coaching staff and previews of the Week 2 matchup.

The Giants’ run defense will be under scrutiny after allowing 220 rushing yards in the opener. Coaches and players have stressed the need to improve gap integrity, tackle-for-loss production and angles in pursuit ahead of a home game against a Cowboys team that will look to establish its offense early in the season.

New York will aim to convert individual activity into team results as it prepares for the quick turnaround. Okereke’s insistence on the value of decisive pursuit underscores a broader coaching emphasis on assignment discipline and finishing tackles as the Giants attempt to shore up a run defense that struggled in the season opener.