The New York Giants were left without a kicker for the majority of their game on Sunday after Graham Gano suffered an injury, and head coach Brian Daboll is facing some criticism over the way he handled the situation.
Gano was added to the injury report on Saturday with a groin injury. Despite that, the Giants chose not to carry a backup kicker on their roster for Sunday’s 21-18 loss to the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md.
Gano suffered an injury on the opening kickoff and was unavailable for the remainder of the game.
In his postgame press conference, Daboll was asked why the Giants did not add another kicker to their roster. He immediately became defensive and insisted the injury Gano suffered on Sunday was unrelated to the groin injury Gano already had. Daboll said he is “not a doctor” when ESPN’s Jordan Raanan asked if Daboll thinks Gano could have injured the hamstring because the kicker was favoring his groin while running.
“He got hurt chasing down … a hamstring. He didn’t hurt his groin, he hurt his hamstring,” Daboll said. “I’m not a doctor. I mean, anybody can get injured, Jordan. Again, he was chasing a kickoff return, he pulled his hamstring. We’re not making excuses.”
Brian Daboll very defensive on the decision to not have a backup kicker pic.twitter.com/HVGR8uerf5
— Talkin’ Giants (@TalkinGiants) September 15, 2024
Not having a kicker may have cost the Giants the game. They had 4th-and-4 at the Washington 22-yard line with the game tied 18-18 and just over two minutes remaining. Since they couldn’t kick a field goal to take the lead, the Giants had to go for it on fourth down and were stopped.
Giants punter Jamie Gillan missed the extra-point attempt after New York scored a touchdown in the first quarter. The Giants then had to go for two after scoring a touchdown late in the first half, and they did not convert. Daboll’s team had another failed two-point conversion attempt after scoring a touchdown to take an 18-15 lead in the fourth quarter.
Gano missed the final nine games of the 2023 season with a knee injury. There was a similar situation last year where the Giants probably should have activated an emergency kicker, which is why Daboll is facing even more scrutiny this time.
