CLEVELAND — Inside 11 seconds, Eric Grey had fumbled away the opening kickoff, and Deshaun Watson had thrown a 24-yard TD go to Amari Cooper towards Deonte Banks.
And the beleaguered Giants fan started considering aloud:
Recreation over.
Season over.
After which Brian Daboll went for it on fourth-and-1 on the Giants 43 and requested Malik Nabers to get the primary down and Malik Nabers received two yards.
“I really feel good that my staff expects me to have the ball in my arms on fourth down and third-and-long,” Nabers stated.
And the Giants by no means appeared again, enhancing to 1-2.
As a result of Malik Nabers wouldn’t let the Giants look again.
He imposed his will on this gameday the way in which Lawrence Taylor all the time did.
Malik Nabers (8 rec., 78 yards, 2 TDs) is an unstoppable drive of nature with the ball in his arms and a good looking soccer thoughts the likes of which few rookies have ever possessed.
He’s The Pure, a game-breaking, difference-making phenom who makes Daniel Jones higher and Brian Daboll higher and offers the Giants the type of hope normally reserved for franchise quarterbacks.
Within the first half of Giants 21, Browns 15, he helped remodel Jones right into a wildly environment friendly quarterback.
Within the first half of Giants 21, Browns 15, he helped remind everybody what a play-calling whiz Daboll might be.
No job safety questions for Daboll.
No cries for Drew Lock.
It wasn’t even the 2 wondrous catches Nabers made on his option to changing into the primary rookie with 20-plus catches (23), 250-plus receiving yards (271) and three TDs in his first three video games.
It was having the presence of thoughts to play defensive again on what loomed dangerously as an interception after Jones received his arm hit on the Giants 10 focusing on rookie TE Theo Johnson. Daboll and Giants gamers couldn’t cease telling him how essential it was at a time when the offense had misplaced its rhythm and the Browns, quickly to make it 21-15, had been hanging in.
“I seen the ball going up within the air, the way in which it was going I used to be like, ‘Oh I would have the ability to catch it,’ ” Nabers stated. Till he realized even he couldn’t.
“I used to be like, ‘Oh, let me simply strive my greatest to knock it down,’ ” Nabers stated.
He takes your breath away the way in which Odell Beckham Jr. did for too quick a interval. Like the nice ones in any sport, you don’t want to take your eyes off of him.
To wit:
His 28-yard catch on a deep throw down the left sideline that appeared earmarked for a Martin Emerson Jr. interception with Nabers seemingly boxed out.
“If I throw it up like that,” Jones advised him, “it’s you or no person.”
It was him.
The child appeared to take it off his sufferer’s helmet.
MY BALL! Not your ball. MY BALL!
“We each had our hand on the ball,” Nabers stated. “I attempted to grab it on the final minute and hopefully maintain my foot in, and I did simply that, yeah.”
Then got here his leaping, spinning catch with each toes one way or the other inbounds within the left nook of the top zone towards poor Emerson, the 3-yard TD catch making it Giants 14, Browns 7.
“I seen the place it was going, I used to be like, ‘ehh,’ ” Nabers stated. In different phrases, he wasn’t certain he may climb for it. He climbed for it, all proper. “I simply did a very good job of simply attempting to get it at its highest level,” Nabers stated.
Air Nabers certainly.
At one level, early within the third quarter, Jones was 20-for-22 for 212 yards with a second TD — a 5-yarder over the center to Nabers — earlier than ending 24-for-34 for 236 yards and a 109.4 QB score.
These is probably not the 2022 Giants, in order that they discovered a option to maintain Deshaun Watson and the Browns alive till Shane Bowen’s shock stress protection (eight sacks) held the fort in crunch time.
Nabers beat himself up for letting the veterans down by dropping a fourth-down go late towards the Commanders, and when he was requested how lengthy it took him to recover from it, he stated: “I’m nonetheless not over it. It’s nonetheless bothering me. It’s one thing that I simply gotta put in my previous. I’m by no means gonna not give it some thought. It nonetheless goes by means of my thoughts day-after-day I speak to [ex-LSU teammate and Commanders quarterback] Jayden [Daniels].”
The Cowboys, up subsequent on Thursday night time, have CeeDee Lamb. The Giants have Malik Nabers.
“It doesn’t actually matter concerning the matchup,” Daboll stated. “Throw the ball as much as him and belief that he’s gonna get it.”
Season saved.