Malik Nabers may have the perfect setup to snap back into form when the New York Giants face the Tennessee Titans, even if the quarterback situation has gone sideways.
The Giants are suddenly dealing with the reported season-ending knee injury to Jaxson Dart, and that changes the complexion of the offense. Jameis Winston did not look ready when he was pressed into action, so Nabers’ path to a big day isn’t as clean as it looked a week ago. Still, Tennessee offers enough soft spots to keep the spotlight on the wideout.
The Titans have been tough to run on through two games. They’ve allowed just 3.4 yards per carry, fifth-best in the league, while also seeing a league-high 71 rushing attempts tied with the Carolina Panthers. That kind of front makes life harder on the ground and pushes more of the burden onto the passing game.
That’s where the matchup starts to tilt toward Nabers. Tennessee corner Alontae Taylor has had a rough return to full-time outside duty after spending the previous three seasons mainly in the slot with the New Orleans Saints. The adjustment has not come easily.
In Week 2, only two defenders gave up five catches to a single player as the primary coverage man, and Taylor was one of them. He spent most of Tennessee’s 24-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles matched up with DeVonta Smith and was beaten repeatedly.
Smith finished with 10 receptions, his third double-digit catch game since entering the league in 2021 and his first since 2024. A lot of that production came with Taylor in coverage, especially on routes breaking in and out.
That’s the opening for Nabers. The Giants receiver has the talent to make the same kind of damage, and Taylor’s early-season issues point to a vulnerability worth attacking. Taylor’s numbers from 2025 back that up too: he was tied for the third-most receiving touchdowns allowed with seven and tied for fifth-most catches allowed with 58.
The one real question is Nabers himself. He injured his shoulder late in the first quarter of the Giants’ primetime loss to the Los Angeles Rams, then returned later in the half but barely made a mark, finishing with one catch for one yard. He was clearly eager to get back out there after Dart went down.
Now the adrenaline has worn off, and the shoulder could be a bigger issue. Nabers said he is "OK." But his practice participation, or lack of it, will be the thing to watch before Sunday.
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Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said the Giants are working on specific packages for Beckham, but those plans have not yet shown up in games, leaving his role very much in flux. For a team trying to steady its offense, the timing makes this a real issue, because Beckham is supposed to be part of the solution and not another question the Giants have to sort out on the fly. [Read more 🡒]