Giants Q&A: OL Nick Gates returns to field for first time since injury
Dareke Young of the Seahawks recovers a fumble by Richie James of the Giants during the second quarter at Lumen Field on Sunday in Seattle. Credit: Getty Images/Steph Chambers
Sure did. The offensive lineman was active for the first time since a devastating leg injury early last season that eventually needed seven surgeries to correct.
With family members in attendance, Gates first got into the game in a goal-line situation in the second quarter and made a key block as Saquon Barkley scored from the 1-yard line to tie it at 7. The Giants lost, 27-13.
“It was definitely a good feeling to get out there,” Gates said. “It was a little moral victory for me . It was a special moment. Definitely, it was surreal a little bit.”
Gates played in other situations as an extra lineman.
“That story is amazing,” Saquon Barkley said. “What he’s been through, the way that he worked. He never gave up . . . He’s the Comeback Player of the Year, in my mind.”
It sure seemed to. The Giants had to go to elaborate lengths to try to get their plays called.
At one point in the waning minutes of the first half, quarterback Daniel Jones had to scream at small groups of players at the line of scrimmage to convey his message as the clock wound down.
The Giants practiced all week with cranked-up crowd noise piped in, but it is difficult to replicate the din generated by the Lumen Field crowd.
He said it was not, given that he played only one season as a Giant. But the Seattle quarterback took a moment to recall his brief time as a Giant with an eye-opening quote after the game.
“This game is for Ben McAdoo and Jerry Reese; they believed in me,” Smith said of the former Giants coach and general manager, who were fired in 2017 the day after Smith’s one start as a Giant (ending Eli Manning’s streak at 210 straight starts).
The Giants did not shy away from that topic after the game. They were killers, obviously.
“Taking care of the ball is one of our main goals, and obviously we didn’t do it,” coach Brian Daboll said. “Richie knows you have to take care of it, and that’s the game.”
James was not available to reporters because he suffered a concussion on his second fumble.
Daboll wouldn’t touch that topic, especially right after a tough loss. Defensive lineman Leonard Williams, whom the Jets traded to the Giants in 2019, said, “The only time I even knew about the trade deadline is when I got traded.”
The Giants will come to work on Monday after the long flight back to New Jersey, then will be off the rest of the week before preparing for a visit from the Texans on Nov. 13.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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