NEW YORK — Dexter Lawrence has a decision to make.

The defensive tackle can harness Giants legend Carl Banks‘ call-out as healthy motivation to step up his play and lead the Giants (2-6) out of this two-game losing streak.

“Dexter Lawrence, nobody respects you anymore,” Banks said on the Bleav in Giants podcast Monday.

Or Lawrence can pull away from that responsibility and seek a way out, away from the accountability and pressure that come with being one of the franchise’s best and highest-paid players.

His performance Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers (5-3) ultimately will answer that question. But Lawrence’s comments on Wednesday were not a good start.

“He’s delusional,” Lawrence said of Banks, whose Super Bowl defenses represent the 101-year franchise’s gold standard.

Lawrence said “no,” the words did not mean more coming from Banks.

“Those are strong words,” Lawrence said. “But if that’s how he feels, f--- it.”

Lawrence, 27, regularly has been up to the challenge of dominating his opponents regardless of whether the Giants have been winning or losing in recent years.

He earned second-team All-Pro recognition in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, respectively, playing for former coordinator Wink Martindale. And he managed nine sacks in 12 games under Shane Bowen last season despite seeing the highest double-team rate (63.8%) of any NFL defensive player who played at least 100 snaps.

But Lawrence’s impact has fallen off precipitously this season, while continuing to lead the NFL in double-team rate for those with at least 100 snaps (59.8%). That prompted Banks, the two-time Super Bowl champion, to call out Lawrence on his podcast with team play-by-play man Bob Papa.

“Dexter Lawrence, nobody respects you anymore. Nobody,” Banks said. “Your opponents do not — the pre-injury Dexter is not there in their heads. They don’t respect you. And there’s a difference. You’re on the field [and] they’re blocking you with a nine-year backup center [in the Eagles’ Brett Toth].

“You’re not making a difference,” Banks continued. “The old Dexter would. There are a lot of things that go into your performance. Only you know what that is, whether you’re still recovering or not. I’m just telling you now, I’m looking at enough tape to know that your opponents don’t respect you, not like they used to.”

Banks wasn’t finished.

“And here’s the thing,” He said. “When Darius Alexander gets in the game, when Roy Robertson[-Harris] gets in the game and they substitute for you …”

Papa added another name: “D.J. Davidson.”

“Those guys,” Banks said, “are making plays against the same guys that are blocking you. I’m gonna just say this: Again, I don’t know the circumstances. It’s time for you to start expecting more of yourself. I don’t know if you’re injured. I don’t know if you’ve fully recovered. But it’s time to start asking more of yourself. Because they don’t respect you.”

Those were harsh comments, but they were also accurate. The reality is Banks could have gone even further in his criticism.

Lawrence did not come into this season at the same conditioning level he has played at in the past. Part of that seemingly was due to the dislocated left elbow injury he suffered last season in a Nov. 28, 2024, road loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

But it’s unclear why an injured elbow would have prevented Lawrence from getting in running shape, so much so that he had to do conditioning sprints at times on the side of training camp practices while having his snaps limited.

Lawrence said twice Wednesday that “my elbow is not an issue” when asked if the injury had hampered his offseason training or his in-season play. He also played through an undisclosed illness about a month ago.

The Giants’ defensive tackle seemed stuck on Banks’ “respect” comment being in reference to whether he is seeing a lot of double teams.

“I don’t know what he’s watching,” he said. “He can say what he wants. I’m gonna keep doing what I’m doing trying to help us get a win … I hope people try to start to disrespect me, let’s say that … because that’s not what’s showing on the field. They’re showing a lot of respect on the field… I get a lot of attention. Check those numbers.”

But again, Lawrence was double teamed a lot last season, too. His numbers simply are down across the board this year.

At a league-leading 63.8% double-team rate in 2024, Lawrence had a 9.6 quarterback pressure percentage, 2.9 sack percentage, 8.3 tackle percentage and 6.6 stop percentage, per NFL NextGen Stats.

This season, at a league-leading 59.8% double-team rate, Lawrence has a 3.5 QB pressure percentage, 0.2 sack percentage, 5.7 tackle percentage and 4.9 stop percentage.

Lawrence was doubled often in 2022 and 2023 under Martindale, and he produced at an All-Pro level both years.

In 2022, he ranked No. 13 in NFL double-team rate at 49.7% and had a 13.7 QB pressure percentage, a 1.5 sack percentage, an 8.2 tackle percentage and a 6.2 stop percentage.

In 2023, his double team rate increased to No. 12 in the league at 51.3%, and he racked up a 12.6 QB pressure percentage, a 1.0 sack percentage, a 7.8 tackle percentage and a 6.2 stop percentage.

The most troublesome comment by Lawrence on Wednesday, honestly, was his insistence that he believes he’s playing well this season.

“I think I’m playing well, yes,” he said. “I think I’m doing what I can when I get the opportunities. Numbers aren’t everything. … The way I play is disruptive. You ask the people I play against, they’ll tell you the same thing — not the people who [are] talking.”

But here is the truth: Banks’ words hurt because they are true. Somebody needed to say it.

And it had to be somebody like Banks to say it publicly because clearly it wasn’t going to be head coach Brian Daboll or Bowen or defensive line coach Andre Patterson, who would coddle Lawrence and make excuses for him rather than showing him the tough love he needs.

Patterson unforgettably blamed the Giants’ safeties and corners for the team’s poor run defense at the end of last season. Daboll scapegoated secondary coaches Jerome Henderson and Mike Treier in lock step.

And there was Lawrence last Sunday in Philadelphia lamenting that “it’s not just the front guys who stop the run” after both Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby rushed for 100 yards and the Eagles put up 276 on the ground against the Giants.

The reality is Banks never would have had to say what he said about Lawrence this week if there were a culture of accountability with this team. But there isn’t.

That’s how a team loses 20 of its last 25 games. That’s how a once-proud franchise sinks to the basement of the NFL and stays there: By empowering a culture of fingerpointing and the so-called leaders who create it.

By ignoring the gold standard of their past and how legends like Banks created it.

©2025 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.