The Miami Dolphins offense may not be a fair indicator, but the New York Giants’ pass rush looked ferocious Thursday, according to John Harbaugh.

Harbaugh opened up about the Giants’ dominant defensive performance at their joint practice against the Dolphins in South Florida on Thursday.

The Giants practiced against the Dolphins ahead of their preseason game Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. It was New York’s lone joint practice of the 2026 preseason.

The Giants’ Pass Rush ‘Was Ferocious’ on Thursday

The Giants are loaded with high-end talent on their pass rush. They can throw Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Chauncey Golston, Darius Alexander or a 300-plus-pound defensive tackle at an opposing offense.

The pass rush did not get much done in the Giants’ 13-10 loss in their preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings. But Thursday was a different story.

“It was ferocious,” Harbaugh said. “That’s practice, so you’ve got to come do it in the game, but I was impressed with it.”

One Giants reporter logged the team with six sacks, a number Burns disputed. “I don’t know the number of sacks, but it was more than six,” he said.

Burns said practicing against an opponent, and traveling all that way amid the muggy conditions, brought out the best in the Giants’ defense.

“It’s just a different feel. It’s a different look,” Burns said. “Playing against somebody else, it’s always going to feel different, and that’s the only way you truly test yourself.”

Brian Burns: The Giants Didn’t Start Practice to the ‘Standard I Hold Us To’

The Giants-Dolphins joint practice was marred by on-field fisticuffs, in which quarterback Jameis Winston was punched in the face and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor was ultimately disqualified.

Still, Burns thought the Giants’ start to the joint practice was tentative, and it was only after the fights that they began dominating.

“I feel like we didn’t play to the standard that I hold us to, or our leaders hold our defense to, because coming out to our first joint [practice], we were trying to be smart,” Burns said. “We had splashes in the beginning, but I wanted us to swarm from when we first got out here, and it just took a little bit to get going — but I understand it’s our first joint.

“I’ll let it be known: we don’t wait to get punched in the mouth to fire off on somebody. That didn’t happen, but that’s how we operate.”

Burns is adamant about the Giants playing with “organized chaos,” and ultimately, the fact that they got there was a good sign.

“You’re not always going to get perfect, but you can strive for it,” Burns said. “We just have to make sure we’re all on one accord, playing the same thing, getting the right call. Our operation needs to be a little bit better, and sometimes we need a little more gap discipline on the runs that squirted out.

“But ultimately, the day was good. It’s just those few little nuances that we need to tweak.”