The New York Giants wasted absolutely no time in getting the circus rolling on Sunday.
On the first offensive play of his team’s Week 10 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, Giants head coach Brian Daboll committed an enormous blunder. Cowboys receiver Brandin Cooks pulled in a short four-yard pass to begin Dallas’ drive, and the ball came loose at the very end with Cooks already on the ground. Cooks was clearly down before the football came out … yet still the Giants challenged the play.
Brian Daboll wastes a challenge pic.twitter.com/1tCqB6r8yo
— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) November 12, 2023
The optics of it were actually even worse for Daboll. Dan Duggan of The Athletic noted that Daboll threw the challenge flag … and then picked it up when it became clear that Cooks had not fumbled. Referees have to proceed with the review once the challenge flag is thrown though, so the challenge went through, and the Giants lost a timeout from it.
Fortunately for Daboll, he got bailed out by his defense as the Giants came up with a big stop on 4th-and-goal to prevent the ensuing Dallas drive from netting any points. But for a 2-7 Giants team that has been making mistakes left and right all year, Daboll tripping over his own feet on the very first play of the game was all too on-brand.
