CLEVELAND — Within 11 seconds, Eric Gray had fumbled away the opening kickoff, and Deshaun Watson had thrown a 24-yard TD pass to Amari Cooper against Deonte Banks. And the beleaguered Giants fan began thinking aloud: Game over. Season over.
And then Brian Daboll went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Giants 43 and asked Malik Nabers to get the first down and Malik Nabers got two yards. “I feel good that my team expects me to have the ball in my hands on fourth down and third-and-long,” Nabers said. And the Giants never looked back, improving to 1-2.
Because Malik Nabers would not let the Giants look back. He imposed his will on this gameday the way Lawrence Taylor always did. Malik Nabers (8 rec.
, 78 yards, 2 TDs) is an unstoppable force of nature with the ball in his hands and a beautiful football mind the likes of which few rookies have ever possessed. He is The Natural, a game-breaking, difference-making phenom who makes Daniel Jones better and Brian Daboll better and gives the Giants the kind of hope usually reserved for franchise quarterbacks. In the first half of Giants 21, Browns 15 , he helped transform Jones into a wildly efficient quarterback.
In the first half of Giants 21, Browns 15, he helped remind everyone what a play-calling whiz Daboll can be. No job security questions for Daboll. No cries for Drew Lock.
It wasn’t even the two wondrous catches Nabers made on his way to becoming the first rookie with 20-plus catches (23), 250-plus receiving yards (271) an.