Current:Home > FinanceCostly drop mars Giants rookie WR Malik Nabers' otherwise sterling day-InfoLens
Costly drop mars Giants rookie WR Malik Nabers' otherwise sterling day
View Date:2024-12-23 14:34:32
LANDOVER, Md. – The first milestone day of Malik Nabers’ career ended in self-described disappointment.
The rookie wide receiver slammed his hands into the sideline with 2:04 left remaining, as he could not haul in a fourth-down pass from Daniel Jones with the game tied at 18. Had the No. 6 overall pick in the draft secured the ball, the Giants would have remained in control of the clock against the Washington Commanders. Instead, the home team drove the ball down the field for a walk-off field goal, and New York opened a season 0-2 for the ninth time since 2013.
What came beforehand for Nabers – his first 100-yard career game and first career touchdown catch – became an afterthought.
“I’m disappointed,” Nabers said. “No matter how good of a game you could play, that last play came down to me. I’m hurt that I let those veterans down. They know what kind of player I am.”
The rest of the league is quickly finding out, too. Nabers caught 10 passes, including the score, for 127 yards.
All things Giants: Latest New York Giants news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.
To say Nabers qualified as the centerpiece of the Giants’ passing attack may actually be an understatement. Of quarterback Daniel Jones’ 28 pass attempts, 18 went in Nabers’ direction. He now has 25 targets (of the team's 65 overall) through two games.
The Commanders were nonetheless content to leave him in one-on-one matchups, and Nabers took advantage. Twice he and Jones connected on shallow crosses for first-down gains, and twice he beat the defender covering him while running a slant route, catching the pass and spinning the opposite way toward the sideline. He had 73 yards by halftime.
“I thought he played well … it was a bunch of one-on-one coverage,” Giants head coach Brian Daboll said.
Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels and Nabers swapped jerseys after the game. Daniels said he told Nabers to “keep your head up.” Nabers initially forgot about the pre-planned exchange with his former LSU teammate because he was upset with himself and the loss. Daboll offered the same advice.
“I know that I can’t get that play back,” Nabers said, “just got to move on.”
The throw from Jones on that crucial play wasn’t perfect, and the timing was slightly off as Jones pump-faked to create a bigger passing window.
“They’re high on me. They’re passing me the ball,” Nabers said. “They know I can make plays, I’m sure. Out of a thousand times, they’re going to continue to call that play and go at me on fourth down again. So, obviously I want to make that play.”
Of course, the Giants offense even being on the field for the fourth-down play was the result of both poor planning and bad luck; kicker Graham Gano, who entered with a groin injury that had him grimacing during warmups, left following the opening kickoff with a hamstring injury. New York opted not to elevate another kicker to the active roster, and punter Jamie Gillan missed an extra point in the first quarter.
But if Nabers made his 11th catch of the game for another first down, then the Giants could at least confront their internal processes at 1-1 rather than still find themselves in search for a win.
“I know what kind of confidence they got in me,” Nabers said. “Just letting those guys down, I don’t ever want to let my team down. That’s the main motto in my head, is ‘Don’t let the team down.’ And I let my team down.”
veryGood! (6738)
Related
- Will Aaron Rodgers retire? Jets QB tells reporters he plans to play in 2025
- Mad Dog Russo, Arizona Diamondbacks' Torey Lovullo 'bury hatchet' at World Series
- Horoscopes Today, October 31, 2023
- A media freedom group accuses Israel and Hamas of war crimes and reports deaths of 34 journalists
- Suspect arrested after deadly Tuskegee University homecoming shooting
- 'Not to be missed': 'Devil comet' may be visible to naked eye in April. Here's how to see it.
- Where are the Black punks now?
- On an airplane, which passenger gets the armrests?
- Richard Allen found guilty in the murders of two teens in Delphi, Indiana. What now?
- Eerie new NASA image shows ghostly cosmic hand 16,000 light-years from Earth
Ranking
- Disease could kill most of the ‘ohi‘a forests on Hawaii’s Big Island within 20 years
- Researchers hope tracking senior Myanmar army officers can ascertain blame for human rights abuses
- States are getting $50 billion in opioid cash. And it's an issue in governor's races
- Climate change is moving vampire bat habitats and increasing rabies risk, study shows
- How Jersey Shore's Sammi Sweetheart Giancola's Fiancé Justin May Supports Her on IVF Journey
- One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson Addresses “Childish” Conspiracy Theories
- Tyler Christopher, soap opera actor from 'General Hospital' and 'Days of Our Lives,' dead at 50
- Cyprus proposes to establish a sea corridor to deliver a stream of vital humanitarian aid to Gaza
Recommendation
-
Video shows Starlink satellite that resembled fireball breaking up over the Southwest: Watch
-
Adolis Garcia, Max Scherzer injuries: Texas Rangers stars removed from World Series roster
-
How the U.S. gun violence death rate compares with the rest of the world
-
Mexico says four more sunken boats found in Acapulco bay after Hurricane Otis
-
Wisconsin agency issues first round of permits for Enbridge Line 5 reroute around reservation
-
Hate crime charges filed in death of Sikh man after New York City fender bender
-
Maine gunman may have targeted businesses over delusions they were disparaging him online
-
Police: THC-infused candy at school Halloween event in California leaves one child sick