Rookie receiver Malik Nabers isn’t concerned that his crucial drop late in the New York Giants’ loss to the Washington Commanders last weekend will hurt him. His teammates share this confidence.
“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 left in the game, which was tied at 18.
New York decided to go for it on fourth down because kicker Graham Gano was unavailable for a field-goal attempt after getting hurt on the first play of the game.
The Commanders took possession and moved 65 yards for Austin Seibert’s game-winning field goal on the last play.
Quarterback Daniel Jones said Nabers took the drop hard, but he believes the sixth overall pick will recover for Sunday’s game against the Browns (1-1) in Cleveland.
“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 a lot of talent and has been impressive since training camp.
On Sunday, he recorded 10 catches for 127 yards and a touchdown, making NFL history. At 21 years and 49 days old, he became the youngest player to have 10 or more catches, over 100 receiving yards, and a touchdown in a single game.
In the first two games, the LSU product has 15 catches for 193 yards. His catch total ties him with Brock Bowers of Las Vegas and Chris Godwin of Tampa Bay for second place, just behind the Rams’ Cooper Kupp (18). His yardage ranks fourth behind Houston’s Nico Collins (252) and both Goodwin and Detroit’s Jameson Williams, who each have 200 yards.
