Rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers‘ breakout game in Week 2 was eclipsed by a fourth-down drop that ultimately helped lead to the New York Giants’ 21-18 loss to the Washington Commanders.
Speaking at a charity event on Tuesday night, Nabers took ownership of the critical flub.
“It’s hard to wash that kind of thing away,” Nabers told Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. “Once you look back on the record, you are going to feel like one of those losses was mine. I’m going to continue to move forward, get better and work on how I cannot drop that pass again.”
At 0-2, with a gauntlet ahead, starting Sunday in Cleveland, that stack of losses could grow for New York.
With no option to kick a late field goal due to Graham Gano‘s injury, Big Blue faced a fourth-and-4 from the 22-yard-line with 2:09 remaining in an 18-18 game. Daniel Jones bought time and found an open Nabers on the sideline for what should have been an easy conversion. However, the rookie dropped the would-be first down, which could have extended the drive.
Washington took over and marched 65 yards to kick the game-winning field goal.
The drop overshadowed Nabers’ sensational outing. The rookie put up 127 yards and a touchdown on 10 catches. He joined Odell Beckham Jr. as the only Giants rookies in the Super Bowl era with 10+ catches, 125+ receiving yards and 1+ TD in a game (Beckham did so four times as a rookie in 2014). Nabers’ 193 receiving yards are the most by a top-10 pick through his first two career games in the common draft era.
Despite the back-breaking drop and second straight loss, Nabers said “positivity” exists in the locker room.
“Adversity is going to hit, but how you overcome it is the main thing,” Nabers said. “When I watch my film, there are a lot of things I can do more, like chasing down the ball. When the ball popped out on [Devin Singletary‘s] fumble, I was in the back. If I was following the ball, I probably could’ve picked that ball up. Just putting in more effort when I’m on the field.”
Unless things turn in a hurry for Big Blue, Nabers could have more adversity to face in the coming weeks.
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