New York Giants linebacker Markus Golden was initially credited with just a half a sack in Sunday’s overtime victory over the Washington Redskins, but upon review, the Elias Sports Bureau decided to make a change.
Rather than splitting a sack between Golden and fellow linebacker Lorenzo Carter, Golden was credited with a full sack, giving him 10.0 on the season and sparking a $1 million incentive bonus in his contract.
Oh, and we may want to mention it also makes him the first Giants linebacker with 10-plus sacks in a single season since Lawrence Taylor last did it in 1990.
Markus Golden initially was credited with a half sack on Sunday. It got changed to a full sack when the game was reviewed. Valuable adjustment: Golden now has 10 sacks, which triggers a $1M incentive
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) December 26, 2019
After learning of the change and subsequent bonus, Golden tweeted out a “thank you” to his coaches and teammates while also encouraging a strong finish in Week 17.
#Blessed 🙏🏿 Thanks to my Coaches and Teammates! Now let’s finish strong! 💪🏿 https://t.co/ozFIA71c1x
— Markus Golden (@markusgolden) December 26, 2019
Defensive coordinator James Bettcher, who served as Golden’s coordinator in Arizona, also expressed some strong feelings over the stat change and what it means for he and the veteran linebacker.
“For me, that one is personal because I have such a great relationship with him,’ said Bettcher of Golden. “Having worked with him when he as a rookie coming in and seeing that first year, how hard he worked. To go from just being a 4-3 defensive end at Missouri to learning how to do some different things in this league, whether that’s dropping or understanding leverage or just picking up the scheme. I saw how hard he worked and how important it is to him.
“To watch the injury going into a year where he had big plans for himself in Arizona and we had big plans for him. Then coming off that injury and continuing to battle and a knee turns into an ankle turns into another injury. Seeing him come into this season and just have the chance to play the game healthy. Have a chance to play as long as he can, as hard as he can during the course of the game. I’ll forever be a Markus Golden fan and be one of his biggest supporters. He’s done a heck of a job for us this year and I think he is anxious to go finish.”
Golden has been nothing short of solid for the Giants, consistently providing a pass rush they have not seen in years. And while he’s average against the run and struggles in coverage, Golden has been everything the Giants and their fans could have hopes for and more.
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