Malik Nabers is 21 years old and has played only three NFL games. But Google his name after the Giants’ 21-15 win at Cleveland and four primary adjectives surface: Breathtaking, historic, spectacular, fantastic.
“I had high expectations,” Nabers told Michael Eisen of Giants.com, “but I feel like having that dawg mentality that I got, it’s just showing every time I’m out there on the field, no matter what play it is.”
Nabers made two specific plays on one second-quarter drive Sunday to jump start the Giants’ offense. First, he “You got Mossed” Browns cornerback Martin Emerson down the left sideline for 28 yards. Then, Nabers punctuated the 93-yard march with a touchdown catch that only YouTube can properly document.
Nabers caught a second touchdown from Daniel Jones just before halftime, giving New York a 21-7 advantage.
“D.J. told me if he throws it up there, it’s me or nobody,” said Nabers, the first player ever to reach 20 catches and three touchdown receptions in his first three NFL games. “He was like, ‘Don’t let it get picked.’ I tried my best to put my hands in front of his hands, did a great job of snatching it away.”
Nabers is also the youngest player in NFL history to catch multiple touchdowns in a game, beating Mike Evans (Nov. 2, 2014) by 17 days. What’s most impressive, however, is that Nabers is igniting the Giants, especially Jones. The quarterback recorded a 109.4 passer rating on Sunday, his best since Jan. 1, 2023.
The Giants were one of six winless NFL teams that won in Week 3. That’s happened only twice previously, in 1981 and 1989. If either the Jaguars or Bengals win on Monday Night Football, this season will establish the NFL record.