EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Rookie receiver Malik Nabers isn’t worried that his pivotal drop late in the New York Giants’ loss to the Washington Commanders last weekend is going to affect him negatively.
His teammates feel the same way.
“Like I said, it’s just a moment I’ve got to put behind me and continue to go out there and catch extra passes after practice,” Nabers said Wednesday after practice. ‘’I’ve been doing it anyway, but just keep on trying to get catches afterward.”
Nabers dropped a fourth-and-4 pass from the Washington 22 with 2:04 to play and the game tied at 18.
New York went for it on fourth down because kicker Graham Gano was not available for a go-ahead field-goal attempt after being hurt on the opening play of the game.
The Commanders took over and drove 65 yards for Austin Seibert’s game-winning field goal on the final play.
Quarterback Daniel Jones said Nabers took the drop hard, but he is confident the sixth overall pick will bounce back for Sunday’s game in Cleveland against the Browns (1-1).
“He’s a confident guy, and I think it was pretty clear we wouldn’t have been in that situation without his performance and all he had done throughout the game,” Jones said. “He’ll be back, and he’ll continue to be a huge part of what we do.”
Nabers has plenty of talent and he has been delivering since training camp.
On Sunday, he finished with 10 catches for 127 yards and a touchdown in putting his name in the NFL record book. At 21 years and 49 days old, he is the youngest player with 10-plus catches, 100-plus yards receiving and a TD catch in one game.
Through two games, the LSU product has 15 catches for 193 yards. The catch total is tied with Brock Bowers of Las Vegas and Chris Goodwin of Tampa Bay for second behind the Rams’ Cooper Kupp (18). His yardage is fourth behind Houston’s Nico Collins (252) and Goodwin and Detroit’s Jameson Williams, who both have 200 yards.
Nabers said one of the good things that came out of the game was the support he got from his teammates.
“They were just like, ‘it’s not on me.’ That one play doesn’t determine the whole game,” he said. “We had a lot of different plays to change the outcome of the game. I had a lot of different talks with some of the veterans. I’m not going to speak on the conversations, but there was just a lot of uplifting from those veterans.”
Jones said the Commanders took notice of Nabers’ performance. Still, Jones targeted him 18 times on his 28 attempts.
Nabers said nothing has changed this week despite the 0-2 start. The team is working just as hard as it did for Minnesota and Washington.
“You work hard for every game,” Nabers said. “The outcome is not the outcome, but as long as your attitude is right and you go out there and continue to grind, continue to try to get a win, that’s all that matters. With the outside noise, it’s just what it is. It’s the people that’s in this room that makes the team.”
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