Giants Country

Why Brian Daboll's Game-Winning Decision Sets an Important Precedent for Giants

Brian Daboll is talking the talk and walking the walk when it comes to building the chemistry among the New York Giants, as evidenced by his decision to go for 2-points late in the game.

Patricia Traina

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
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With the way the New York Giants' luck has gone of late, no one would have blamed head coach Brian Daboll if, following the 1-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Jones to fullback Chris Mayrick, he had called for the extra point to tie the game against the Tennessee Titans and then hoped for the defense to force it into overtime.

But Daboll wasn't having any of that hesitation, that doubt. No, as soon as the Giants scored, there was no question in his mind that he would have them go for two--and the game's lead.  

"Going for the win," Daboll said when asked why he made the decision. "We’re going to be aggressive. That’s what we want to do. That’s the mindset I want the players to have. If it didn’t work, I could live with it. I thought that was the right decision."

What Daboll revealed next is very telling about the relationship he's building with his players in his first season as an NFL head coach.

"You’re an inch away or whatever it was. I trust Saquon (Barkley). I grabbed a couple of defensive players and busted their tails out there. I went up to some of the offensive guys that weren’t out there too, and I said, ‘Hey,’ we got the ball, wherever it was. I said, ‘If we score, I’m going for two. Are you guys good with that?’ And they said, ‘F-yeah.’"

Imagine that. A head coach trusting his players to make the head coach look like a genius. Or a head coach who offers his players buy-in.

This is the approach Daboll has taken since he was hired as the head coach of the New York Giants. Whereas perhaps in the past, some head coaches might have paid lip service regarding their "trust" of players to execute," Daboll is far from being the kind of man who talks out of both sides of his mouth.

And his players appreciate that. 

"He told us he wasn’t going to coach scared, and that’s exactly what he did," said receiver Sterling Shepard. "I mean, we all knew it. We knew we were going to go for it because he told us last night. He said, 'I am not going to coach scared,' and I believe everything the man says."

That trust, Shepard said, means a lot to the players.

"We appreciate that. We want to be put in those pressure situations, and we got guys that want to be in those positions to make that play," he said. "Everybody in our huddle was like, I asked them, ‘Who is going to make that play,’ so we were all ready to make it, and that is what you have to have to make it."

It's only one game for Daboll's Giants. Still, an upset win over a quality opponent like the Titans, last year's No. 1 seed in the AFC, can certainly go a long way toward helping the psyche of a Giants team that has been stuffed to the bottom of the division and the league for the better part of the last decade. 

More importantly, it's a good way for the team to learn how to win together and handle the spoils that come with victory the same way they've handled adversity and losing.

Daboll's honesty with his players and willingness to consult them about things is a big reason why the Giants are off to a 1-0 start in beating a team that, according to many, they had no business beating.

It's why the players, as led by team co-captain Saquon Barkley, decided to present the game ball to Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen.

Daboll, who appreciated the gesture, felt undeserving of it. "I don't play the game. It's those guys that earn it and get hit and fight through it for 60 minutes," he said. 

But without his leadership and willingness to share ownership of the program he's trying to build, there probably is no fight in this Giants team, which for the first time in a long while, has started to learn how to win again and hopes to build on the momentum.  

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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