'Sore' Malik Nabers sends clear message to John Harbaugh

As noted by the New York Giants' website, a reporter asked Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers on Wednesday why he was "very demonstrative towards the sideline" during a portion of the second half of New York's 36-24 home win over the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 4.

Nabers sent a strong message to head coach John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy via his response to that question. 

Malik Nabers wants the ball throughout four quarters of action

"I felt like I didn't get targeted much after halftime," Nabers explained. "So, that was just a thing. It's just – I felt like creating explosives down the field was just helping us get in a better position to score touchdowns. Some of those plays didn't come my way, so just trying to figure out why." 

Overall, Nabers produced his best outing of the season when he recorded six receptions on seven targets for 112 yards and a touchdown against Arizona. That said, ESPN's Jordan Raanan pointed out that Nabers tallied just one catch on two targets for 28 yards in the second half of the Week 4 game. For what it's worth, it sounds like Nabers' message was well received by Harbaugh following the Giants' latest victory.

"I talked to [Harbaugh] just about – just trying to clarify on – I think we need to implement more things after halftime," Nabers said. "Just also trying to give me the ball down the field to create some of those opportunities for us to gain more points. It felt like during the first half when we did that, it kind of led into the right direction with scoring touchdowns in the red zone. And just – after that, we just couldn't get going. So, I felt like the offense was needing a spark and I wanted to be that spark, so I was just trying to figure out what was going on, and what was the thought process on going into after halftime and coming out, what was the talk that he had with the coaches on implementing things down the field – we had a talk about it."

Backup quarterback Jameis Winston will serve as New York's starter until further notice, with first-choice option Jaxson Dart sidelined through at least the rest of the regular season (knee). Weather permitting, Winston may want to give Nabers additional opportunities to make some home-run plays during this Sunday's game between the 3-1 Giants and the 1-3 Washington Commanders at Washington's Northwest Stadium. 

Is Malik Nabers concerned about a potential setback?

Nabers is still looking to reclaim his best form coming off the torn ACL and torn meniscus he suffered on Sept. 28, 2025. He did not practice Wednesday because of what was referred to as a "sore" knee, but neither he nor Harbaugh seemed too concerned about the issue after Wednesday's practice. 

"Just sore," Nabers said about whether he had endured a knee-related setback. "Just sore. We'll see how the next day goes, but through the week, I'm usually sore. But this one was kind of a little bit more sore. I always continue to fight through it."

Nabers seemingly will attempt to play through discomfort this weekend. As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Giants as 3.5-point road underdogs against the Commanders.