The Brian Daboll era in New York started on a positive note Sunday as the Giants erased a once two-possession deficit and earned a 21-20 Week 1 victory against the Tennessee Titans.
While it was running back Saquon Barkley who compiled 194 yards of offense on 24 touches, Daboll deserves a fair share of the credit for making the tough decision to go for a game-winning two-point conversion. The call came after the Giants cut their deficit to 20-19 on a 1-yard touchdown with 1:06 left in regulation. Quarterback Daniel Jones found Barkley on the ensuing two-point conversion to put New York out front 21-20 with one minute remaining.
Tennessee kicker Ryan Bullock missed a 47-yard field goal with four seconds left, which would have lifted the Titans to victory.
“When we got the ball,” Daboll said regarding when he made the decision to go for the two-point conversion, as shared by the team. “Go for the win.”
“We’re going to be aggressive. That’s what we want to do. That’s the mindset I want the players to have,” Daboll continued. “If it didn’t work, I can live with it. I thought that was the right decision. You’re an inch away or whatever it was, I trust Saquon. I grabbed a couple of the defensive players who had busted their tails out there along with some of the offensive guys who weren’t out there and said, ‘Hey, we score I’m going for two, you good with that?’ And they said, ‘F yeah.'”
As acknowledged by Daboll, the decision surely is one which will sit well in the locker room as it shows the first-year head coach’s trust in his team. The trust might have been well-earned, too, given the Giants outscored the Titans 21-7 in the second half.
Daboll’s decision probably was not met as fondly by some others, though. PointsBet Sportsbook revealed Sunday before the game how 90% of the moneyline bets and 81% of the moneyline handle was on the Titans to win. Tennessee also was responsible for 74% of spread bets and 66% of the spread handle, but weren’t able to cover the 5.5-point spread.
