Malik Nabers, the Philadelphia Eagles’ explosive rookie wide receiver, stood at his locker after blowing the game against his new team’s biggest rivals on MNF. In that game, he caught five of 12 targets for 71 yards. The sport conference posed a great storm of confusion to his heart. He’d had a poor performance and he couldn’t get past the ghosts of special matchups between the teams past.
During the post-game news conference, Nabers expressed his disappointment, stating, “Just 12 targets and five catches. Not how I want to end the day off.” As he walked off the podium, anger written all over his face. His exit highlighted the enormous pressure that was on him.
Nabers recently underwent a nasty bout with a flu-like virus that knocked him out for weeks of training. Now, he’s opening up – for the first time – about his return and full recovery. He described the roots of this issue as going all the way back to the beginning of the summer. Though these issues stung, he was still feeling pretty good about where he stood going into the game. It felt awesome getting back out there, running around and just catching those passes again. “Felt good,” he said, showing his fighter’s spirit to do anything possible to help alleviate the team’s woes.
The receiver’s past experience against the other team made it easy for him to get frustrated. When asked about this, he admitted, “I went to look at it a little bit, got frustrated again, turned it off.” This offhand comment revealed his deeply competitive streak. It gave the public a glimpse into the emotional toll that high-stakes rivalries can exact on young players.
For Coach Nabers, it was ugly in this particular contest. All season long he fought a losing battle thanks to the slow start he had after missing much of camp. His dedication to reestablishing his game is surely reflected in him staying focused and pushing through these private torments.
The Giants’ coaching staff and fans hope that Nabers can channel his recent experiences into improved performances in upcoming games. He’s looking forward to the next game. Plus, everyone wants and expects him to put all of his frustrations and odd headspace aside and absolutely dominate on the football field.
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