Sports

Malik Nabers Throws Brian Daboll Under The Bus While Shielding Tommy DeVito From Criticism

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New York Giants WR Malik Nabers on the field before a game.

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New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers wasn’t happy with the play calling in his team’s 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. He voiced his frustrations with a lack of first half targets in a postgame interview.

Rather than blame new QB1 Tommy DeVito, he aimed his criticisms at head coach Brian Daboll. It didn’t matter who was under center. No one is throwing the ball to the Giants‘ star pass catcher!

Nabers recorded six catches for 64 yards against the Bucs. He was targeted nine times, each of which came after halftime.

New York threw the ball just five times in the first half as they struggled to find any type of rhythm on offense. Across those first 30 minutes of play, the Giants ran just 18 plays resulting in three punts and a turnover on downs.

By the time Nabers hauled in his first catch, his team was down 23-0. He’d finish the game as the top receiver, but all of that damage came in garbage time. He was visibly upset with his lack of usage after the fact.

“I go out there in the first and second quarter, and I don’t get the ball,” he said in the locker room after the loss. “I start getting targets at the end. I mean, I can’t do nothing. I start getting the ball when it’s 30-0. What you want me to do?”

When asked who was to blame for the target share, Malik Nabers called out play calling as opposed to newly anointed starting signal caller Tommy DeVito. Brian Daboll was the first name out of his mouth.

“Talk to [Brian Daboll],” the pass catcher continued. “The coaches know [I’m frustrated].”

Brian Daboll took over play calling duties ahead of the 2024 NFL season. This, coming after the Giants finished 30th in the league last year in scoring (15.6 ppg). That change hasn’t resulted in an uptick in production.

While Nabers was critical of his head coach, he refused to throw his quarterback under the bus. He doesn’t believe it would’ve made a difference who was (or wasn’t) throwing him the ball.

“Obviously, it ain’t the quarterback,” he said. “Same outcome we had when Daniel Jones was the quarterback. Take a look. Take a look. It ain’t the quarterback.”

The Giants made a move away from Daniel Jones this week with Tommy DeVito making his first start on Sunday. No matter the QB, Malik Nabers is fed up with being an afterthought in the Giants’ offensive plan. The first-round draft pick wants to be more involved. He’s placing all of the blame at the coaching staff’s feet in regard to his usage. We’ll see it results in a change next week.