Giants head coach Brian Daboll defended the decision not to activate a reserve kicker after Graham Gano sustained a hamstring injury on the opening kickoff and did not return in New York’s three-point loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
Gano, who sustained a groin injury during practice on Friday, was added to the injury report on Saturday. But the team decided against using one of their practice squad elevations on kicker Jude McAtamney. A decision that cost the team right away.
“We thought Graham would be okay,” Daboll said after the 21-18 defeat to the NFC East rivals. “He got hurt chasing down [the returner]. It was a hamstring. He didn’t hurt his groin. He hurt his hamstring.”
He added about the decision not to activate McAtamney: “We thought he was good. We thought he was good. All the decisions that are made are mine.” (Daboll later added that activation decisions are “collective” with GM Joe Schoen.)
And while Austin Ekeler‘s 98-yard kickoff return from a touchdown would be called back by a holding call, Gano – who was seen by reporters laboring through his pregame warmups – was lost for the rest of the day and punter Jamie Gillan was used for kickoffs.
When asked if the pre-existing groin injury contributed to the hamstring injury, the head coach said, “I’m not a doctor.”
“I mean anybody could get injured,” Daboll said about the risk of getting re-injured. “He was chasing a kickoff return, he pulled his hamstring. I’m not making excuses.”
Daboll was asked if the Giants considered only using Gano for kicks and not kickoffs to prevent strain on the injured kicker, the head coach said they thought he would be fine to handle his duties.
“We talked to him. Talked to the trainers and again, I can’t tell you he’s going to get hurt chasing down a 100-yard kickoff return that was called back,” he said.
After Devin Singletary punched it in from seven yards out on the Giants’ first possession, Daboll had Gillan attempt the point-after with backup quarterback Drew Lock holding. The hold was adequate, but the laces weren’t fully rotated out and the kick went wide right.
That was the last kick they had the punter attempt – as they went for a two-point conversion on their next two touchdowns and did not attempt what would have been a 40-yard field goal with 2:04 to play in the fourth in a tie game.
Instead, Big Blue went for it and had Malik Nabers open on the sideline, but the rookie wide receiver dropped the pass.
“He missed the first one and we thought our chances were better going for it or going for two as the game went on,” Daboll said. “And how we were playing offensively, I felt good about our plays. We had one to [Darius Slayton], we had an opportunity there, a two-point. We had another one with [Tyrone] Tracy that ended up covering the scramble.
“And then I went for it on fourth-and-three. It was fourth-and-three right at the end to Nabers, a little under and go, and we just didn’t finish it off.”
Daboll said they “had discussions” about going back to Gillan to kick, but “I just figured look, we had some two-point plays that we liked. Thought we’d be okay with going, which we did and didn’t end up making the plays.”
And Daboll said there was a distance they felt comfortable kicking with the score tied at 18-18 and under two minutes to go, but they didn’t get there.
However, when asked what distance, he said, “I’m not gonna get into where it was at.”
