3 NY Giants losers (and 3 winners) from the 21-18 defeat vs. Washington

It's another start to the week filled with agony for the NY Giants faithful. In the second matchup of the year, the G-Men had a golden chance to improve to 1-1. Instead, they let a win slip through their fingers and this team is now 0-2 on the campaign.

Players are unhappy, coaches are frustrated and the fanbase has just about had it. In the loss, there were loads of negatives, but there were also some positives to keep in mind moving forward. With that said, we've got our three winners and three losers from the action:

Loser: NY Giants head coach Brian Daboll

Brian Daboll was so upset after the final whistle, he tossed his headset in disgust. Can you blame him for having that reaction? The Giants played well and deserved to win, but costly mistakes late in the action proved to be back-breaking. Daboll is getting called out left and right for not having someone ready to step in for Graham Gano, who was on the injury report earlier in the week with a groin issue. Gano injured his hamstring on the opening kickoff, missing the rest of the game. Not having him on the field proved to be a nightmare for Big Blue.

Winner: NY Giants quarterback Daniel Jones

After the season-opening loss to the Vikings, countless people were calling for Daniel Jones to get benched, Daboll stuck with him for Week 2 as his starter and it was the right call. You can blame a lot of people for the Week 2 loss, but Jones isn't on the list. He finished the day tossing for 178 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly, he also took care of the ball, finishing with zero turnovers. Jones did more than enough to help this team post a win, but it just wasn't meant to be for him. He has every right to feel confident following this performance - it's something for him to build off of.

Loser: NY Giants cornerback Cor'Dale Flott

After starting the season off at slot cornerback, which by the way didn't make an ounce of sense, Cor'Dale Flott returned to the outside and was CB2 for the G-Men vs. Washington. So, how did he do? Not well at all. Flott continues to deal with inconsistent play and he got burned on Washington's game-winning drive. With Flott covering Noah Brown, Jayden Daniels hit his WR in stride for a huge 34-yard gain. Shortly after that, Flott was getting looked at by trainers too. He can't be trusted in pressure situations. Adoree' Jackson should go ahead and start on the opposite side of the field from Deonte Banks against Cleveland.

Winner: NY Giants cornerback Dru Phillips

With Flott on the outside, it allowed rookie third-round pick Dru Phillips to get the start in the slot. There aren't enough good things we can say about the first-year CB out of Kentucky. Plain and simple, Phillips was all over the field in this one, posting some big-time stops.

Phillips forced a fumble in Week 1 against Minnesota and he followed that up with another impressive showing vs. the Commanders. It's still early on in the campaign, but goodness, he's looking like an unreal Day 2 pick for this defense.

Winner and loser: NY Giants wideout Malik Nabers

Rookie sensation Malik Nabers is our final winner and loser for this article. First, let's start with the good. Nabers looked like an All-Pro talent against the Commanders. He torched the secondary for 10 receptions, 127 yards and the first touchdown of his NFL career. Whenever Jones needed someone to make a big play for him, Nabers was there to deliver at all times. Well, almost...

The reason Nabers is also featured as a loser here is because his 4th-down drop is going to haunt him for a little while. With the game on the line, Jones tossed a perfect ball for No. 1 to come down with, but he somehow let it hit the turf. Washington then got the pigskin and never looked back. Had Nabers reeled the ball in, maybe, just maybe the Giants would be 1-1 on the year. We're not blaming him for the loss, but this outcome could have been different if he would have hauled in that final pass from his quarterback.