The New York Giants may have dropped their fifth consecutive game, but interim head coach Mike Kafka did not disappoint under pressure in his first game at the helm since the franchise fired Brian Daboll.
Kafka held several players accountable, like Abdul Carter, who sat out Big Blue's first defensive series for sleeping through the team's walk-through practice. Kafka also decided to start Jameis Winston over Russell Wilson with Jaxson Dart in concussion protocol, a decision that proved to be correct.
The Giants' interim head coach wasted no time making these difficult decisions and holding his players accountable, which makes you wonder if Daboll would've done the same had he not been fired. Kafka's leadership did not go unnoticed, and his first red challenge flag thrown in Sunday's loss is an example of why he is the team's current head coach.
Mike Kafka’s first challenge as interim HC showed exactly why the Giants trust him
On the Green Bay Packers' first drive of the game, Kafka wasted no time throwing his red challenge flag to review a Josh Jacobs' 15-yard run, where it appeared he may have stepped out of bounds. The ruling on the field was that the call stands, meaning New York would lose the challenge and one of their timeouts.
Although the G-Men may not have won that challenge or the game, Kafka's postgame comments on why he decided to throw the laundry should give fans even more reason to support the decision to make him the team's interim head coach right now, as the franchise searches for its next leader.
After the game, Kafka explained his reasoning for throwing the challenge flag, saying, "I'm not hesitant to pull the flag if our guys see something and they're confident about it."
There's nothing fans want to see more than a player's coach who will have his players' backs regardless of the outcome, and Kafka defended his players, stating he has no problem pulling the flag if his players are confident they saw something. Those quotes are exactly why Kafka is leading this football team right now, and Daboll or anyone else on the coaching staff isn't.
While the road won't get any easier for Kafka as the Big Blue's interim head coach for the remainder of the season, as the Giants prepare to face the Detroit Lions in Week 12, he'll look to lead the G-Men back in the win column, something the team hasn't accomplished since Week 6.