Explanation Emerges for Abdul Carter’s First Quarter Bench­ing

Abdul Carter was benched for the second time this season for a violation of team rules, and this time, he missed the entire first quarter against the New England Patriots. It was initially unclear what the specifics were for his second benching, but a report from Dan Duggan from The Athletic has revealed that it had to do with Carter missing a special teams meeting last week.

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Carter Disciplined For Second Time in Three Weeks

Monday’s game against New England was not the first time that Carter was benched. The third overall draft pick was also forced to sit out the opening defensive series against the Green Bay Packers two weeks ago.

According to several sources, Carter was asleep in the facility during a team walkthrough, but he refuted that report, saying that he was undergoing recovery, but accepting responsibility for missing the walkthrough.

“My mistake was an honest mistake,” Carter told ESPN. “I own the fact that it was an honest mistake. I was getting treatment and I told Coach Kafka that, too. But to say I was sleeping at that time just wasn’t true. And it also wasn’t a trend. This was the only time it happened.”

Even with Kayvon Thibodeaux sidelined with a shoulder injury, Tomon Fox played the first six defensive snaps as Mike Kafka has installed a no-tolerance policy for mistakes.

The penalty was steeper the second time, as Carter missed this entire first quarter after missing the meeting. According to Duggan, there was some confusion because Carter is on the punt return unit some weeks and not others.

During his media availability postgame, Carter said to reporters, “S— happens. … I mean, I let my team down today. First two drives I was out, they scored 17 points. I take responsibility for that. I gotta be out there. I gotta do better.”

Carter Recorded His First Career Full Sack Upon Entering

Upon entering the game during the first defensive series of the second quarter, Carter recorded his first career full sack on a third-and-one. He tackled Patriots quarterback Drake Maye from behind as he attempted to pick up the first down and got the Giants a much-needed stop.

Carter came up with three more tackles to finish the outing with four total tackles, including two solo tackles and the sack on Maye. Although the Pats quarterback was sacked three times, it was a very productive outing for New England’s offense as they posted nearly 400 yards of offense.

Drake Maye had an efficient outing, going 24-31 for 282 yards and two touchdowns as the Patriots built a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and led 30-7 at halftime. New England moved the ball with ease, with TreVeyon Henderson rushing 11 times for 67 yards and Rhamondre Stevenson posting an identical 40 yards in rushing and receiving.

Through the air, eight different pass catchers were in double figures, led by Hunter Henry’s four catches for 73 yards. Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas, and Kyle Williams were all over 30 yards, while star receiver Stefon Diggs had a quieter night with three receptions for 26 yards.

The Giants’ defense has underperformed its expectations, and without its best players on the field, it has struggled even more. The hope is that Abdul Carter has learned from his time on the bench so he does not have to miss any more playing time, as the Giants cannot afford to continue sitting him out.

Arnav Sarkar Arnav Sarkar is a sportswriter and reporter covering the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles for Heavy Sports. A proud graduate of Rutgers University, he also currently writes for On The Banks, where he covers everything Scarlet Knights sports, with a main focus on football and basketball analysis. More about Arnav Sarkar