There is a difference between the way Malik Nabers looked the first two weeks in his first action since ACL surgery and the way he is more recently presenting himself physically. 

And, as a result, his production has skyrocketed. 

“I was just thinking about that the other day,’’ offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said Thursday. “Probably the first week or two you could see he was a little hesitant, which is natural. I haven’t thought about that at all when he’s out there playing now. To me, that’s a massive jump. 

“Man, he’s looking good. You can see it with some of those targets. He did get some targets so … wink, wink.’’ 

Yeah, Nabers got some targets in Sunday’s 27-27 tie with the Commanders. He was thrown to a career-high 20 times and came away with 11 receptions for 121 yards and the game-tying touchdown pass from Jameis Winston. 

How often Nabers was targeted was a theme around the Giants last week leading into the game. Nabers always wants more. 

Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers catches a pass from quarterback Jameis Winston (19) during football practice. Noah K. Murray for NY Post

“Is he happy with 20?’’ Nagy asked. 

After all that action, Nabers not long after the game guessed he was targeted 12 or 14 times before he was told that it was indeed 20. 

Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) catches a touchdown pass as Washington Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil (0) defends during the fourth quarter at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“He’s full of crap,’’ Nagy said, laughing. “He knew. He’s funny, man.’’ 

Nagy added that the bar is now raised for Nabers and mentioned, “I saw Puka got like 27, right?’ referring to Puka Nacua’s 27 targets Monday night for the Rams. 

“We got to get more now,’’ Nagy said, still smiling. “We’ll see. You can’t sucker me into those questions.’’ 

Nabers, for his part, said he still has room to improve physically. 

“Still got like 20 percent left to get to, 20, 30,” Nabers said. “I mean, I got a lot more left. I got a lot more ahead of me that I see in myself of potential.” 

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OLB Abdul Carter and RT Jermaine Elumunor, both dealing with calf issues, did not practice for a second consecutive day. They were off on the side working with trainers. LT Andrew Thomas (groin) also was held out of practice but that has been the scenario the past few weeks. The key will be if Thomas is able to get on the field Friday, which has been his usual schedule. S Tyler Nubin (neck) and CB Colton Hood (concussion) did not work and likely will be ruled out for Sunday’s game. S Jason Pinnock (concussion) was a full participant so he should be available to play. 

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After going 9-for-9 on field goals to start his NFL career, Dominic Zvada went 2-for-5 against the Commanders — missing from 50, 57 and 46 yards in the rain. Inconsistency with his plant leg was a constant on the misses. 

“All makeable kicks and all things that we’re going to work on,’’ special teams coordinator Chris Horton said. “We believe in him, we trust him and we got confidence in him.’’ 

Asked about Zvada’s level of confidence after the rough outing, Horton said, “I believe you don’t have to check in with him, you just got to remind him that he is damn good.’’