The New York Giants are set to host the Kansas City Chiefs in their 2025 home opener under the bright lights of Sunday Night Football at MetLife Stadium. It’s a battle of the beaten — each team entering the game winless at 0-2.
This is a litmus test game of sorts for both teams — Kansas City’s trying to prove they’re still contenders, and the Giants are just trying to prove they still have a pulse. However, for some reason, head coach Brian Daboll likes to make his job harder, and he’s at it again with his latest game plan decision for the matchup.
According to The Athletic’s Dan Duggan, Dabs is sticking with the cornerback-by-committee approach between Cor’Dale Flott and Deonte Banks ahead of Big Blue’s Week 3 primetime showdown... which hasn’t exactly been working.
Daboll indicated that the CB platoon with Cor’Dale Flott and Deonte Banks will continue. He said they’ve both earned playing time.
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) September 17, 2025
Brian Daboll doubling down on Cor’Dale Flott–Deonte Banks CB rotation
Flott and Banks have been battling for the starting corner slot opposite Paulson Adebo throughout the offseason, and that competition has bled into the regular season.
It’s a nice story. And having two starter-worthy CB2s sounds great — the only problem is, they don’t. Daboll can keep telling the media both guys have earned reps, but look at the numbers (via Pro Football Focus) and tell me this isn’t a baffling decision:
Player A | Player B | |
|---|---|---|
2025 snaps count | 64 | 118 |
Pass rush grade | -- | 58.5 |
Run defense grade | 66.0 | 37.2 |
Coverage grade | 41.1 | 82.8 |
Overall | 45.9 | 75.3 |
The only stat that truly matters for a corner is the coverage grade, which Player B wins by a landslide. Player A is Deonte Banks. Player B is Cor'Dale Flott. At least the snap counts make sense. Flott nearly doubling Banks' reps suggests he's better... because he is... by a lot.
Giants fans already know the Chiefs will be without Rashee Rice, who's serving a suspension for a car accident in Dallas last year. That'll make it easier to justify the rotation. However, it's not all sunshine and rainbows just yet.
Two Kansas City receivers look like they’re going to suit up after all. Xavier Worthy, nursing a torn labrum, has been practicing and is expected to play, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Jalen Royals just practiced for the first time all year on Wednesday and may be active too.
That’s bad news for the G-Men, made worse by the stubbornness of their head coach.
The Chiefs are averaging just 211 passing yards per game so far. That number is likely to jump with more weapons returning, so now’s not the time to get cute. Just stick with Flott and give DC Shane Bowen a fighting chance (not that he's necessarily earned it). Because if this rotation continues, things could get ugly in primetime real fast, which is the last thing this team needs.