Brian Burns not satisfied despite Giants defense’s dominant day

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Nope.

That is basically how Brian Burns responded when it was suggested to him that the defense he leads had six sacks during Thursday’s joint practice with the Dolphins.

“We had more than six,” Burns said.

So, how many?

“I don’t know the number of sacks,” Burns said, “but it was more than six.”

These edge rushers often give themselves sacks in practice when they get within reach of the quarterback, so sometimes their assessment is a bit skewed. It does not matter much what the exact total was. It was clear this matchup was one-sided in favor of the Giants.

New York Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux, left, and linebacker Brian Burns, right, do drills during a joint NFL football practice with the Miami Dolphins on Thursday, August 20, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

“Yeah, it was ferocious,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “That’s practice, so you’ve got to come do it in the game. But I was impressed with it.”

It was not only the guys up front. Safety Jevón Holland and nickel back Dru Phillips both stormed in to wreck plays against the Miami offense with clear paths to the quarterback. There were times when Malik Willis, working with the Dolphins’ starting offense, had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux were too much for the Dolphins’ offensive line to handle. Chauncey Golston had at least two sacks.

“I got to look at the film to really figure it out,” Willis said afterward. “That’s what’s hard to kind of tell when your eyes are downfield. I just hear the whistle. But I think those guys have a great front and all due respect to them, but we’ll figure out what we were doing wrong when we get to watch the film.”

New York Giants linebacker Brian Burns walks from the field during a joint NFL football practice with the Miami Dolphins on Thursday, August 20, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Burns called the defensive showing “overall, dominant,” but he is holding his unit to the highest of standards. He was pumped up by how the Giants defense finished but was not satisfied with the intensity from the outset. 

Perhaps it was the earlier start time — they were on the field at 9:30 a.m. after hitting the field at 1:30 p.m. all summer — and the newness of the first practice with a different team.

“Coming out as our first joint, trying to be smart, make sure everybody gets taken care of, but at the same time, they’re not our team,” Burns said. “So, when you have an opportunity to hit them, you hit them. And you hold them up and they get hit again. We started to do that later on, towards the middle of the day and the rest of the day on. But we had splashes in the beginning, but I wanted to swarm from when we first got out here and it just took a little bit to get going.”