In the Biblical tale of David versus Goliath, it took little more than a stone to bring the giant to his knees. Indeed, over the past several weeks, it has felt like less than that has regularly brought the New York Giants to their knees.
The New York NFL team has had an especially rough season lately, getting obliterated at every turn. In the past two weeks alone, they’ve lost by a combined 48 points to the Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons. All of this adds up to the team staking its claim to being the worst in the organization’s 100-year history of play. Their loss to the Falcons was a franchise-record-setting 10th straight loss, and to make matters even worse, it was a 34-7 demolition.
Disappointment in Defeat
“Disappointing” was the only word rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers could muster to describe the indignity. Still, two weeks remain in the season, with two more games left to play for the team. And while many Giants fans may agonize at the prospect of two further chances for the team to carry on its disastrous losing streak, the team itself is far from ready to simply roll over and give in. The Giants, who have won two games this season, insist they’re still playing hard and haven’t given up despite what the scoreboard may suggest.
“At this point in time, it should be the ‘why,'” right tackle Evan Neal said. “Everybody has their own individual ‘why’ and why they play this game in the first place. It’s tough to endure a losing season like this. But you have to still go out there and play. You have to figure out a reason to play every week.”
Nabers’ “why” extends beyond his top priority of winning. Setting more desirable records than the losing streak is among them. Nabers passed Odell Beckham Jr. and Saquon Barkley for the Giants’ rookie catch record with his 92nd reception in the first quarter on Sunday. “If I can put my name in the record books,” Nabers said, “I’m going to do it.”
Veteran wide receiver Darius Slayton has a different perspective. He’s going out and putting his body on the line for the love of the game. “Just cherishing every opportunity you have,” Slayton said. “Football, one day, will come to an end. Regardless of your predicament, you have two more opportunities to go out there and play the game you love. So gotta take advantage of it.”
Slayton is well aware that he will be a free agent at the end of the season. His performance can and will affect his reputation.
Making the Most of It
These final two weeks are probably most meaningful to the scores of young, inexperienced players on the Giants’ roster. Veteran right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor points out that the team’s defensive linemen, linebacker Ty Summers and guard Jake Kubas played big roles against the Falcons.
“You try to play as hard as you can and don’t let this get you down and put bad tape out there because, at the end of the day, every single team is watching,” Eluemunor said. “Some guys may not be here next year, but by the way they’re playing now, it may open up doors later in their careers because of how they played. The things they can get out of this is keep playing as hard as you can, and when the opportunity is there, take it and run with it.”
More than anything for most players, it’s all about pride. Players such as outside linebacker Brian Burns and Nabers could have shut it down weeks ago when they were dealing with what seems like a new minor injury every week.
Burns was playing through an ankle problem in Atlanta, and Nabers left the contest for a few plays to have his shoulder checked. He also missed practice time last week with knee and foot problems.
“It’s really just an individual battle between everybody and showing who they are, their character, to come out here and try to play as hard as they can knowing that our season isn’t what we expected it to be,” Burns said. “It would be the easy way to hang it up, quit and just let the season go out how it is. It’s going to be a lot tougher for you to still fight in these games.”
