Costly drop mars Giants rookie WR Malik Nabers' otherwise sterling day

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.

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.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Malik Nabers' drop vs. Commanders mars Giants WR's sterling day