New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh felt like shock therapy was exactly what Malik Nabers needed to get over any first-game jitters.
Nabers suited up for Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys for the first time since suffering a torn ACL nearly a year prior. He took the field with a little more confidence thanks to an unconventional ploy from Harbaugh before kickoff at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Nabers told reporters that Harbaugh had tackled him during walkthrough in an attempt to get him mentally ready to take contact. Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart shared the story during his postgame press conference following a 28-20 win over the Cowboys.
“We were all just chilling on the sideline,” Dart recounted. “It was right before we were supposed to start our walkthrough.
“Me and Coach Harbs kind of had some conversations, he’s like, ‘I think once he gets hit for the first time and realizes that he’s okay, then he’s going to feel confident.’ I think in his mind, that triggered, ‘Maybe I should tackle him right then and there.’
“We were all just standing there, and all of a sudden Malik goes down on the ground. Our team’s super protective of him, so we all turned to look and it was Coach Harbs tackling Malik.”
One inconsistency in Nabers’ version of events was that he claimed Harbaugh was unable to bring him down. Dart may have outed his teammate for getting successfully tackled by a 63-year-old veteran coach.
In all fairness to Nabers, Harbaugh did play defensive back at Miami years ago. But the last time Harbaugh suited up for the Hurricanes, Dan Marino was just in his second year slinging passes for the Miami Dolphins.
Harbaugh’s scare tactic seemed to work. Nabers took some contact in the first quarter and shrugged it off like he was in midseason form. He caught six passes for 69 yards in New York’s season-opening victory.
