The 2023 regular season didn’t go as planned for the New York Giants but that’s nothing new for wide receiver Darius Slayton, who has seen his fair share of losing since being selected in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL draft.
The Giants have made the playoffs just once in Slayton’s career — a surprise 2022 appearance in which they picked up a win over the Minnesota Vikings — but that’s as much success as he’s seen.
Expectations were higher this season but the Giants came out flat, losing eight of their first 10 games before going on a mini-winning streak that somehow kept their playoff hopes alive.
Unfortunately for the Giants, those good times were short-lived and they were officially eliminated from the playoffs following a Week 16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. They followed that up with a heartbreaking 26-25 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
After the game, Slayton couldn’t help but to express his disappointment and frustration.
“It’s definitely disappointing,” Slayton told reporters. “We had multiple chances to win the game by seven or more. If we executed a little bit better in a few spots, and Jalin’s big play doesn’t get called back, probably would’ve had a some more points there at the end that maybe we could just kneel it out. But it just didn’t go that way.”
That disappointment is something Slayton has felt entirely too often throughout his career. For every one step forward, it’s two steps back.
“We just haven’t made enough plays at the end,” he added. “If we execute a little better on a few plays, we could probably have 14 more points there at the end. So, at the end of the day, that’s what it comes down to. You’ve got to make them when it counts.”
The Giants remain plagued by the same issues that have haunted them for more than a decade: poor offensive line play, dropped passes, missed tackles, killer penalties and, above all else, injuries.
But this season more than any other, it’s been the self-inflicted wounds that have led to the most frustration.
“A lot of plays that kind of go under the rug normally tend to be the ones that come back to bite you in the end, whether that’s win or lose,” Slayton said.
“We just have to continue to focus on the little things and it starts with myself,” running back Saquon Barkley added. “A simple option route that I’m thinking about taking it to the house instead of just securing the catch, and other plays throughout the game. That’s what it is; it’s the little things. That’s what it comes down to; focusing on the details and doing the little things right, and the majority of time, that team will come out with the win.”
At the end of the day, it’s just more of the same for Slayton, Barkley, and these floundering Giants.
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