Giants head coach Brian Daboll had three words for tackle Evan Neal after he committed a false start penalty on the opening drive in Sunday’s game against the Raiders.
Daboll appeared to yell “what the f–k!” as Neal walked off the field at Allegiant Stadium, where Las Vegas got off to a 7-0 start and the Giants were forced to punt the ball.
The Giants were getting ready to go for it from their own 29-yard line on fourth-and-1 play when Neal jumped early and was called for a false start.
Daboll was evidently livid with the former first-round pick, who returned in the 30-6 loss to the Raiders after he missed the past two games with a sprained right ankle.
Things took a turn for the worse when Neal left the game in the fourth quarter with a left ankle injury.
“It hurts, I’m pretty sure it’s similar to what I had in the other one,’’ said Neal, who was diagnosed with a sprain on Monday.
“I got long-armed and I had one foot in the ground and I was falling backwards and it was weird, I feel like I hyperextended it maybe.’’
It has been a rough year for Neal as he has struggled when healthy and called out Giants fans at the peak of his issues.
“Why would a lion concern himself with the opinion of a sheep?” Neal told NJ.com last month. “The person that’s commenting on my performance, what does he do? Flip hot dogs and hamburgers somewhere?”
Neal’s injury was not the most significant one of the day.
Quarterback Daniel Jones went down with a knee injury one play into the second quarter and was set for an MRI exam on Monday.
He was getting ready to throw a pass when he appeared to fall on a non-contact injury.
Jones is feared to have suffered a potentially torn ACL, according to NFL Network.
He was 4-of-9 for 25 yards before he was ruled out.
Backup Tommy DeVito relieved Jones and passed for 175 yards and a touchdown.
Jones also missed the past three games due to a neck injury.
The Giants (2-7) visit their NFC East-rival Cowboys (5-3) on Nov. 12.