Giants' Abdul Carter benched for opening quarter vs. Patriots

When the Giants' defense took the field for the first time on Monday night against the Patriots, Abdul Carter was not there. And the rookie edge rusher remained out for the entire first two New England possessions.

The move to bench the former first-round draft pick was a "coach's decision" and not injury-related, SNY NFL Insider Connor Hughes reported. Chauncey Golston played in Carter's place.

On that first drive, after getting a good kickoff return, the Patriots drove 49 yards over 12 plays and kicked a 22-yard field goal. After getting a 94-yard punt return for a touchdown, New England's second drive began with 3:38 to play in the first quarter, and Carter remained on the New York sideline wearing a coat. The Patriots took advantage of his absence and cut through the defense for a five-play, 61-yard touchdown drive in just 2:38 for a 17-0 lead.

Cater entered the game for the Giants' first defensive snap of the second quarter. On his third play, Carter recorded his first career solo sack, bringing down Drake Maye at the line of scrimmage to force a New England punt.

This is the second time in three games that interim head coach Mike Kafka has sat Carter, after he did so in the loss to the Packers in Week 11.

“That was a coach’s decision,” Kafka said after New York’s 27-20 loss. “That was something we talked about. I wanted to make sure … that was my decision. So we’ll just keep the rest of that in-house.”

More light was shed on the situation with Hughes confirming that the Penn State product missed a team walkthrough while he was asleep at the team facility.

Dan Duggan of The Athletic, who first reported that the suspension was due to missing a walkthrough, also reports that "being late to meetings has been a trend during Carter’s rookie season that former coach Brian Daboll let slide."

“I love Abdul and what he brings to this team, the skill set that he has,” Kafka said after the game. “This guy loves ball. And, I’m excited to watch him attack this week of practice and continue to work and grow and be the great player that I think he is.”

Carter told reporters from his locker after the game on Sunday that he made a mistake during the week, and while he didn’t specify what he did, he said that he understood that his actions have consequences.