LANDOVER, Md. -- Malik Nabers sat at his locker in the far corner of the Northwest Stadium visitor's locker room Sunday afternoon with his head in his hands and a towel around his head.
The 21-year-old Giants rookie was upset.
It didn't matter that he had just diced through the Washington Commanders defense to the tune of 127 yards and 10 catches. He didn't even care that he snagged his first ever NFL touchdown in the waning minutes of the first half.
Nabers wanted a win -- badly. And after he dropped what could have been a game-winning catch near the 10-yard line with 2:04 to go in the fourth quarter, Nabers blamed himself for the Giants' 21-18 loss.
"I'm disappointed," Nabers said after the game. "No matter how good of a game you can play, that last play came down to me. I'm hurt that I let those veterans down."
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Accountability -- especially from a rookie -- is always a good thing, but he's not the one Giants fans should be pointing fingers at for their team's latest dud.
The defense, for instance, let Washington convert on seven of their 14 third down opportunities, control the game with a 37:32 to 22:28 possession time edge and watched as rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels torched them with 270 total yards c 226 through the air and 44 on the ground.
Then there's the head scratching decision by the front office and coaching staff not to bring in another kicker after Graham Gano landed on the injury report on Saturday (Gano suffered a hamstring injury on the first play of the game).
To pin all of that incompetence on Nabers, who now has 193 yards in his first two NFL games, would be foolish. Regardless, Nabers said his fourth quarter blunder will keep him up at night.
"You don't (move past it)," Nabers said. "You just play the game and then you just forget about it. This whole week I'm going to be thinking about it, until the next game. But I'm going to continue to think about it."
If anything, the play of Nabers, the No. 6 pick in this year's draft, proved that the Giants offense can actually be competent in 2024. Quarterback Daniel Jones, who had a much better outing in Week 2, targeted him 18 times -- including on a deep shot down the sidelines on the Giants' second offensive drive.
He showcased his top-end speed -- which was on full display with a huge 28-yard catch in the first quarter -- and how quickly he can pivot and change directions, like when he spun around Commanders cornerback Michael Davis two times in the same drive.
Point is: The Giants' season may already feel like a dumpster fire, but Nabers looks as good as advertised early on. When asked about his prolific role in his new team's game plan, Nabers said he's happy to have earned the trust of his teammates.
"It's just the work that we put in," Nabers said. "He's (Jones) certain that if he throws me the ball, a play's going to be made or the ball's just going to be knocked down. Him throwing at me that many times shows the trust he has in me and shows how much this offense has in me."