One of the biggest stories surrounding the NY Giants' embarrassing loss to the Washington Commanders was their handling of the kicker position. Prior to the game, Giants kicker Graham Gano was given an injury designation on his groin. While it was clear that he was likely to play, something clearly wasn't right.
Despite this, the Giants opted not to call up their practice squad kicker Jude McAtamney, leaving Gano as the lone man to run the position. Then, to no one's surprise, Gano went down on the very first play of the game, leaving the Giants without a kicker for the remainder of the matchup.
This decision not only cost the Giants the game, but gave fans a better look at how truly dysfunctional the organization truly is. To make matters even worse, Daboll did himself no favors in the press conference following the loss:
Brian Daboll very defensive on the decision to not have a backup kicker pic.twitter.com/HVGR8uerf5
— Talkin’ Giants (@TalkinGiants) September 15, 2024
Brian Daboll was quite defensive over how he handled Graham Gano's injury
When faced with criticism surrounding his decision to not activate a second kicker, Daboll not only became defensive, but he was also borderline argumentative. Daboll did hold himself accountable for the decision, but his handling of the question left much to be desired.
As mentioned before, this decision ultimately cost the Giants their chance to start the season off at 1-1. Instead, they're staring down the barrel of an 0-2 start, with teams like the Browns, Cowboys, Seahawks, and Bengals waiting for them.
This sort of response is not something you would expect from a guy like Daboll. The frustration is understandable, as the Giants truly should have won this game. However, Daboll has no one to blame but himself for not choosing to elevate McAtamney. If the Giants had a real kicker available, they would have won this game comfortably. Instead, a tough loss was posted and the fanbase is quite displeased with him.