Giants’ 2-point conversion: Brian Daboll shares insight into trick play mishap
In Week 8 of “Monday Night Football,” the New York Giants found themselves down by 14 points against the Pittsburgh Steelers when running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. made a stunning 45-yard touchdown run, narrowing the gap to eight points.
This gamble, however, did not pay off, as New York was unable to execute what was intended to be a clever trick play.
Reviewing the Giants’ 2-point conversion attempt against the Steelers
Nabers had several blockers set up in front, and with only a couple of Steelers defenders in his path, he appeared poised for an easy score.
Unfortunately, Nabers was unable to secure the catch as Steelers edge rusher Alex Highsmith crashed into him at the moment the ball arrived, indicating the Giants had failed to block Highsmith effectively.
Daboll assesses the failure of the Giants’ 2-point conversion
So, what went wrong?
“‘Motor’ (Devin Singletary) was actually getting clarification from the official about his position on the line, and Daniel recognized the look we wanted to go with to throw the ball out to Malik,” Daboll explained. “Unfortunately, when Daniel snapped the ball, he was still talking to the official. We had plenty of blockers, but at that moment, the lone defender just slipped past him.”
Not only Singletary but other Giants players appeared caught off guard by the snap as the blockers didn’t initiate their movement until after the ball was thrown, allowing Highsmith to breeze through an open lane to disrupt the play.
Daboll did not point fingers at any specific individual for the breakdown. He clarified that Jones was meant to snap the ball quickly to catch the Steelers off-guard.
“They were ready to go, while we weren’t set,” Daboll said. “There were two defenders on the outside and many more inside who saw the snap happening and managed to react quicker than we did.”
The failure on the 2-point conversion complicated the Giants’ efforts to recover from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter against Pittsburgh.
Nevertheless, the Giants still had an opportunity to tie the game in the final minute. They advanced down the field successfully, reaching 58 yards of the required 93 before Jones was intercepted by undrafted rookie Beanie Bishop Jr. with just 34 seconds remaining in regulation.