The ball hung in the air for what felt like an eternity — until Malik Nabers snared it in a crowd and fought his way across the goal line.
Any thoughts that Nabers might not carry a full workload because of groin and hip injuries — or that the temperamental rookie might not give a full effort because the Giants are headed nowhere — were put to bed Sunday when he made five catches for 79 yards and scored two points in a 14-11 loss to the Saints.
The Giants still suffered their eighth straight loss when a game-tying field goal attempt was blocked with eight seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
It had to be frustrating that his impact didn’t change the outcome, no?
“I’ve answered that question plenty of times,” Nabers said. “When you lose, it’s hard. Especially when you lose like that — fighting to the end — it’s hard.”
Nabers was a big reason that the Giants offense — held to 135 yards through three quarters — came alive with 190 yards in the fourth.
He made a leaping 22-yard sideline catch and landed just in bounds at the 1-yard line.
After Tyrone Tracy scored, Drew Lock forced a throw to Nabers for a two-point conversion.
The pass was batted into the air, but Nabers never lost concentration, came down with the ball encircled by five Saints and then muscled his way into the end zone as his lower body was crunched.
“The defense played it well — they knew what was coming,” Nabers said. “We just adjusted on the fly. It’s two points, so Drew just gave it a shot. They hit it up, it was floating in the air and it fell in my hands.”
Nabers did not practice Friday and was considered questionable entering the game.
He left the game feeling “sore” and “hurt” physically and “at a loss for words” mentally.
“My team needs me out there,” Nabers said. “I’m willing to put my body on the line and show that I care about the team. Just trying to get a win, and show my team that I’m here to play at a high level.”
The Giants were left ruing a litany of mistakes — mostly on offense and special teams — in the loss.
“That’s just football, I guess,” Nabers said. “That’s just the New York Giants this year.”
It was just two games ago in this never-ending slog toward the finish line that Nabers griped about not getting the ball early in games when the Giants get blown out.
Well, he only had one catch for 17 yards on two targets after the third quarter before the Nabers Show (eight targets) began too late.
“We had plays in the first half to get me the ball,” Nabers said. “The defense had a good operation. From practice, Drew is getting a [defensive] look all week. If that look is not there, he has to look somewhere else. I can’t be mad at how the game went. We called plays for me to get the ball — it just didn’t end up in my hands.”
