Why Tre Hawkins’ Interception Is So Important for the Giants

The Giants have had it bad this year. There has been no explosion of plays on the field, and they have been fumbling over themselves nearly all season to the point that their season is gone, and there are no playoffs for them again this year. In their game against the New Orleans Saints, the Giants had nearly all the third string on the field. Very few of the starters were on the field for the Giants; however, one of them showed that they had a little bit of promise for New York. 

Tre Hawkins made a difference and caught an interception for the New York team. The first one since week one was when Darius Musasau picked off Sam Darnold in Week 1 to their loss to the Minnesota Vikings. This is not a good look for the Giants. This is a lot of time that the Giants have gone without having an interception. They have had plenty of fumbles during the season but no interceptions since the early part of this year. 

Saints quarterback Derek Carr was aiming to throw a deep ball at Kevin Austin. Carr underthrew the ball, and it landed perfectly in Hawkins' hands. He stepped in, and that was it. Things had turned around for the Giants at that moment of the game, ending their super long drought without an interception. 

This is so incredibly important for the Giants. It shows that they still do have the heart in them and that they can actually play a great game. Hawkins hasn’t had much play time on the field, but after making that play, he proved that the Giants still have it. Anything that happened after that was a different story. The Giants needed this play to happen. 

This team is full of new players, so it is a young team. It’s just a matter of teaching them how to play the game the right way and proving to fans that they are able to make things happen. It should not be surrounded by the focus of very few people. If Hawkins could make the Giants look good, the rest of the team can bring them back to being a number one team again for next season. 

This was only Hawkins’ third game that he has played in this season. He was the Giants' pick in the sixth round of the 2023 draft class coming out of Old Dominion. Last year, he recorded 35 total tackles as a rookie. In this game, he recorded a total of four. If they allow Hawkins to play next weekend just as he did in this weekend's game, it might make more of a difference. It really showed in this game against the Saints. They are going to take on the Ravens in their next game, and hopefully, they can keep this pace up. It is a little too late, but if they can end it on a good note, the Giants should be fine.