There are 260 NFL players who have recorded at least half a sack through the first seven weeks of the season. A nose tackle has more than all of them. Dexter Lawrence has emerged as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate with a league-high nine sacks, which is already 1.5 more than the career high he set two years ago while playing 82 percent of the snaps compared to 76 percent this season. With the Giants sitting at 2-5, does that stat meaning anything to Lawrence? “Not when we keep losing,” Lawrence said with a laugh after the Giants’ 28-3 loss to the Eagles on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Still, it’s rarefied air for the 26-year-old, who has been with the Giants since being drafted in the first round from Clemson in 2019. The last time a defensive tackle led the NFL in sacks was Aaron Donald (20.5) in 2018. No other interior lineman has done it in the last 20 years. Since sacks became official in 1982, former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan and current Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt are tied for the single-season record (22.5). Lawrence is currently on pace for 21.8. “He just demands so much attention when he’s out there on the football field,” said Giants left guard Jon Runyan Jr., who remembers Lawrence being a marquee opponent on the schedule when he played in Green Bay from 2020-23. “I think it would be not very smart to leave him on a one-on-one block with a center or guard and he requires a lot of attention and he’s constantly getting double-teamed. You see how explosive he is and how good of a player he is.” That’s what’s ironic: Lawrence isn’t sneaking up anyone. According to Next Gen Stats, Lawrence has been double-teamed on 63.3 percent of his pass rushes this season, the highest rate faced by any player since at least 2018 with a minimum of 100 pass rushes. And yet the most disruptive player on the Giants’ defense continues to have his way and take advantage of virtually every 1-on-1 opportunity that he gets in the passing game. “It’s not just me, honestly,” Lawrence said. “It’s the game plans, it’s the DBs covering, it’s the guys outside of me rushing as well. I do what I can when I can, whenever I get that 1-on-1 or whenever I’ve got to hustle to a ball or effort plays. It’s more than what the numbers say that goes along with me getting sacks.” When defenses do manage to bottle Lawrence up with an extra body, that makes life easier for the Giants’ defense at all three levels. It’s why Lawrence is arguably the most indispensable player on the team, even more so than All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas. “(It) makes it 10 on 11 quick. There’s got to be a free guy for doubling Dex,” inside linebacker Bobby Okereke said. “Then, from a pass rush standpoint, the quarterback has to get the ball out quickly. That can lead to more interceptions and more untimely throws. It just helps the defense out overall.” Watt, whose Steelers will host the Giants next Monday night, has led the NFL in sacks in three of the previous four seasons. Watt and Lawrence currently have the best betting odds to win Defensive Player of the Year, according to covers.com. Along with his pass rushing, Lawrence has also earned an 83.8 grade from Pro Football Focus as a run defender to be the second-highest-graded interior lineman overall (90.0) behind Pittsburgh’s Cameron Heyward (90.6). While Lawrence is a safe bet to dominate on the Giants’ defense, neutralizing the opposition and playing complementary football have been problematic for the Giants’ offense, which allowed a season-high eight sacks to the Eagles. It came as little surprise that the Giants’ worst day in pass protection was during Thomas’ first game out of the lineup because of a season-ending Lisfranc injury. But it was still jarring to see Josh Ezeudu struggle mightily and yield two first-quarter sacks after the third-round pick spent all offseason training as the backup left tackle. The Giants’ only two wins have come away from MetLife Stadium, so heading back on the road might be the elixir that the offense needs right now to help out Lawrence and the defense, which has allowed the 12th-fewest points per game (21.3) — and it’s technically even better than that since opposing defenses have scored two touchdowns off of turnovers. “For him to be doing what he’s doing at such a high level, it’s really fun knowing that the defense is going out there and playing well,” Runyan said. “We got to do our job on offense to compliment them and put up points so they can keep playing like that.”