Notebook: Malik Nabers ‘ready to go’ vs. Eagles

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Malik Nabers is confident he will boost the Giants’ offense when he returns to the field Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles after missing two games with a concussion.

“I’m a focal point when I’m out there,” Nabers said today. “The defense makes different calls when I’m out there. So, not having me, it made it a little bit harder for those guys. Just having me out there, just the presence that I am out there, knowing the defense knows I can make plays, it helps other guys make plays also.”

The Giants’ offense had two decidedly different performances in Nabers’ absence.

Two weeks ago in Seattle, the team had season-high totals of 29 points (including one special teams touchdown) and 420 yards in a 9-point victory in Seattle. Last Sunday night, the yardage total dropped to 309 and the Giants scored just once in a 17-7 loss to Cincinnati. It was their first touchdown this season in MetLife Stadium, where they look to earn their first victory after three defeats.

Nabers hopes his presence improves that situation. Despite missing those two games, he still leads the Giants with 386 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Wan’Dale Robinson jumped past him and now has a team-high 37 catches, two more than Nabers. Robinson is second in the NFL with 58 targets, six more than Nabers.

When he was injured late in the fourth quarter against Dallas on Sept. 26, Nabers led the league in targets and catches and was second in yards. Quarterback Daniel Jones will certainly look for Nabers regularly against the Eagles.

“There’s no doubt he’s been a big part of our offense so far, and someone who we’ve counted on in a lot of spots,” Jones said.

Nabers was officially limited in practice today due to tightness he had in his groin late yesterday. But he was not listed in the game status portion of the injury report and said after the workout, “I’m ready to go.”

He said the groin is not an issue.

“I’ve been dealing with it for so long, so it’s just becoming a normal thing,” he said. “I’ve been playing through it since college.”

The concussion, however, was his first.

“It was scary when I couldn’t remember what happened or couldn’t remember like the last play I was in,” he said.

But it’s not like a groin injury, Nabers knew he had to be patient. He was cleared by an independent neurological consultant yesterday, three weeks to the day from suffering the injury.

“My health is really the most important thing, so I really wasn’t frustrated,” he said. “It was just getting back out there when I feel right. The trainers did a well job of having me answer a lot of questions to see if I was back to normal, so having those guys, the process was easy, but I really wanted to be out there.”

Nabers did concede it was “pretty tough” not to play. “Watching plays being made, not being out there to compete – it hurts,” he said.

He switched helmets to help prevent sustaining another concussion.

“They just insisted that this helmet would protect my head better,” Nabers said. “They insisted it before the season, but I like the helmet that I was wearing before. So, it’s just making precautions for when I’m out there now. “

This will be Nabers’ first game against the Eagles, arguably the Giants’ fiercest rivals. What are his expectations?

“Just play ball, really,” he said. “A game is a game. I know everybody says it’s a big game, but every game is a big game to me. It’s a good opportunity for me.”

The Giants need him to capitalize on it.