Head coach Brian Daboll didn't have to wait long to go for two after the Giants scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game to cut the Titans' advantage to 20-19.
When the Giants received the ball to begin the drive, Daboll said in his postgame press conference that he vowed to play for the victory and that, with the game on the line, he knew he wanted the ball in the hands of running back Saquon Barkley. The Giants hung on for a 21-20 victory when Barkley successfully converted the extra point after Randy Bullock's gun-shot field goal attempt sailed wide left.
Trying to win, Daboll declared. "We will act aggressively. What we intend to do is that. I want the players to think like that. I would be okay if it didn't work. That, in my opinion, was the appropriate choice. Whatever it was, you're only an inch away. I believe Saquon. I grabbed a few defensive players and went after them from behind. Hey, we got the ball; wherever it was, I told several of the offensive players who weren't present. If we score, I'm going for two; are you all okay with that? I said. And they responded, "F-yeah."
The reward for his aggressiveness in his first game with a team that has been losing for years was well worth that risk, and playing to win paid off for the Giants, according to Daboll, who later in the press conference said he understood the consequences of his decision not working out, but that's "what you sign up for when you're a leader."
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