The New York Giants are now 0-2 on the season following a 21–18 loss to the Washington Commanders on the road. The Giants lost kicker Graham Gano on the opening kickoff and it turned out to be a costly blow as the team didn’t have a proper contingency plan.
The Giants’ schedule doesn’t get any easier for them, as their next four games are against the Cowboys, Seahawks, Bengals, and Eagles. Quarterback Daniel Jones was much better after a horrific Week 1 performance, but defensive lapses and a critical fourth-quarter drop by Malik Nabers prevented New York from scratching out a win.
1. The Giants’ decision not to call up a kicker from the practice squad came back to bite them
Gano hurt his hamstring trying to make a tackle on the opening kickoff, which was returned by Washington for a touchdown but got called back after a penalty. The Giants quickly ruled him out for the remainder of the game, leaving punter Jaime Gillan as the only available kicker on the roster.
Gano popped up on the injury report over the weekend but the Giants decided to move forward with him as their kicker and without a backup anyway.
The Giants would score a touchdown on their opening drive and attempted to have Gillan try the PAT, but he missed it wide right. New York opted not to kick another field goal the rest of the way, and they failed to convert on a pair of two-point conversions.
Failing to have a backup kicker proved costly, as the Giants found themselves in field goal range a fair amount of times but were forced to play every series with four-down drives. If the Giants had a backup kicker to replace Gano, they likely would have come out on top in this one, but they were unable to make up for his absence and now will have to wait for their first win of the season.
2. The Giants were unable to stop the Commanders’ ground game
Despite not allowing a Commanders’ touchdown, the Giants were eviscerated by the ground game. Washington recorded 215 rushing yards for an average of 6.1 yards per carry. Brian Robinson was responsible for 133 of those yards on just 17 carries, while quarterback Jayden Daniels contributed 44 yards on the ground as well as 210 through the air.
Seven of the Commanders’ eight drives resulted in a field goal. Washington dominated the possession game, controlling the football for 37:32 of game time compared to the Giants’ 22:28 possession time.
The Giants were able to get to the quarterback often in this one, as they recorded five sacks, including two from safety Jason Pinnock. However, they failed to stop them on third downs and couldn’t keep the pressure on them.
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3. Malik Nabers arrived on the scene
Aside from a costly drop late in the fourth quarter that resulted in a turnover on downs, rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers was brilliant, catching 10 passes on 18 targets and gaining 127 receiving yards. He also recorded his first NFL touchdown right before halftime.
After questions were raised about whether or not Nabers was being targeted enough in Week 1, the Giants made him the focal point of the offense against the Commanders. Nabers accounted for 67% of all receiving targets, and no other Giants wide receiver had more than four targets.
As Nabers and Jones continue to develop chemistry on the field, the amount of usage for the rookie wideout should only continue to trend upwards. The Giants will be relying on Nabers to make this offense more explosive, and they got a glimpse of that in Week Two against the Commanders.
