EAST RUTHERFORD - Accountability.
I asked New York Giants captain and inside linebacker Bobby Okereke how he sees one of the trendiest words for those who have started with an 0-2 record end up manifesting itself within a team.
Does he start seeing that Monday, the day after the Giants' headscratching and mindnumbing loss to Washington, or at the first practice of the week Wednesday? Okereke said it starts much earlier than that: Sunday night on trip home from the game is when he began breaking down film cutups with teammates Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux, among others.
"I think it's really just being honest - having those honest conversations, being self-aware, realizing when you made a good play and when you didn't make a good play, when you did your job and when you didn't," Okereke said. "Overall, it's just having the dedication throughout the week, whether that's my process [Tuesday], on a Wednesday, a Friday, a Saturday, a mock game. Just making sure my dedication and focus is on making the corrections week to week."
Let's take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly for the Giants heading to Cleveland in Week 3 for Sunday's 1 p.m. game against the 1-1 Browns:
THE GOOD
Malik Nabers gets it
There was so much to like about Malik Nabers' game in which he recorded his first 100-yard effort (127 on 10 catches and a staggering 18 targets) and scored his first NFL touchdown late in the second quarter.
What Nabers was focused on at his locker after such a disappointing loss: the fourth down pass he failed to secure that would have kept the Giants' final drive alive. Instead, the Commanders took over and drove the field for the eventual game-winning field goal as time expired.
Nabers, 21, said his greatest disappointment was the fact that the veterans on the team have embraced him, and put their trust in him to make those plays, and he felt as though he left them down.
"I love that," Okereke said. "Obviously, he knows and everybody in the building knows he was a star that game. He played extremely well. I think that moment is going to be big for him in his career. He'll remember that. He'll make the corrections throughout the week. His focus and energy will be on making that play. I think he'll have a lot of successful endings to games because of that play he missed."
A functional offensive line
One of the worst parts of the defeat is the fact that the Giants' offensive line was, dare we say, good. For the second consecutive game, the pass protection was solid. This time, Devin Singletary had plenty of holes to run through as the Giants produced 129 yards rushing as an offense. Daniel Jones also had proper pass protection, enough to feel comfortable and target Nabers 18 times.
Dru Phillips, baller
Rookie nickel cornerback Dru Phillips played 66 of 72 snaps, and he was forced to miss three snaps due to a concussion test that he cleared. He played six other snaps on special teams.
Phillips finished with 12 tackles, including seven solos with a sack. He was also called for a phantom defensive holding penalty that wiped away a Brian Burns sack on third down early in the fourth quarter.
THE BAD
Ain't that a kick in the head
There's no reason to once again litigate the kicking decision to not cover themselves with Graham Gano entering the weekend with a groin injury. The Giants made their call, and they ultimately paid for it when Gano injured his hamstring trying to chase down the opening kickoff that went for a touchdown, only to be called back for a penalty.
Too many missed tackles
When the Giants hit a rough patch last October, the Achilles' heel for the defense was a drop in fundamentals and a lack of tackling. That happened again Sunday against the Commanders, and that can't happen.
Digging into an 0-2 hole ... again
Since 2013, spanning five head coaches and three GMs, the Giants have started 0-2 nine times, most in the NFL. They've already lost an NFC East game, so they're in the basement of the division. And the next three games are against opponents who were in the playoffs last year.
THE UGLY
Run defense gashed
One of the tenets of defensive coordinator Shane Bowen's defenses in Tennessee was their ability to stop the run.
Yet the Giants, who struggled against the run under Wink Martindale, have had the same effect on Bowen.
The Commanders had 215 yards on the ground, including 133 yards on 17 rushes for Brian Robinson. If the Giants want to play to what is supposed to be their strength up front, and that's the pass rush, they're going to have to figure out how to plug the holes that were gushing yards for Washington on Sunday.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: State of New York Giants: The good, the bad and the ugly as they head to Cleveland
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