{"id":76637,"date":"2025-12-20T18:10:24","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T18:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/76637\/"},"modified":"2025-12-20T18:10:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T18:10:24","slug":"brian-burns-stuck-in-cycle-of-losing-with-giants-as-panthers-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/76637\/","title":{"rendered":"Brian Burns stuck in cycle of losing with Giants as Panthers surge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dec. 20, 2025, 11:01 a.m. ET<\/p>\n

New York Giants<\/a> linebacker Brian Burns is having a breakout individual season, yet it’s unfolding amid the same relentless losing he sought to escape.<\/p>\n

Acquired in a blockbuster trade from Carolina and signed to a lucrative contract worth up to $141 million in March of 2024, Burns arrived expecting a turnaround. Instead, the 2-12 Giants are barreling toward potentially their worst season ever by winning percentage.<\/p>\n

When asked about thriving personally while the team flounders, Burns reflected.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

“What has it been like?” he told NJ Advance Media<\/a>. “Like every other year I\u2019ve had in the league.”<\/p>\n

Burns admitted the losing wasn’t what he anticipated.<\/p>\n

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“Did I think it would be different? Yeah,” he said. “I wouldn’t say hope. It was more like an expectation. You know, having wishful thinking. You don’t want to come in here thinking, ‘Oh, I\u2019m going to the same s–t.’ I thought it would be better.”<\/p>\n

Statistically, Burns has delivered: A career-high 13 sacks this season, plus 21.5 total over 31 games in New York, with 45 pressures and a 71.5 Pro Football Focus pass rush grade. Still, he won’t say whether he’s held up his end of the deal.<\/p>\n

“We ain\u2019t done yet,” he said. “At the end, maybe. But we keep losing.”<\/p>\n

Burns remains unfazed about being labeled a star on perpetual losers, eyeing optimism for 2026 with rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart:<\/p>\n

“No, because I see where we’re going,” he said. “We’ve got our guy [Dart]. And throughout my years in Carolina, it was always a struggle to find the guy to play the most important position on the field. But apparently, we have him. So I don’t think [losing a lot] is going to be in my future. If you think too much about the window, you’re going to lose it.”<\/p>\n

Coping mechanisms help.<\/p>\n

“You\u2019ve got to keep rolling with the punches. It’s like: I came this far — but I didn\u2019t come this far just to come this far. S–t, got to keep pushing,” Burns said, adding that he celebrates “small wins.”<\/p>\n

“It could be making my bed in the morning. I feel like that equates to success. If I set my mind to do something and I actually do it, that’s a small win to me. I feel like that can improve your mood. That can just improve your process. Those small wins build up. It makes you feel good about yourself: I got that done, even though it was something so simple.”<\/p>\n

Watching his former team, the Carolina Panthers<\/a>, at 7-7 and battling for a divisional crown, doesn’t sting, he claims.<\/p>\n

“Decent,” Burns said. “Does it sting? No. Because I know they had to do what they had to do [with the trade]… Our journeys just didn\u2019t match.”<\/p>\n

Ultimately, personal stats fall short without wins. Burns may have challenged himself to become an elite player in 2025 and has arguably accomplished that feat, but it hasn’t resulted in team success. So, while the Panthers at .500 doesn’t sting, the Giants at 2-12 certainly does.<\/p>\n

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