The New York Giants were no match for the dominant New England Patriots. Interim Head Coach Mike Kafka had a tough time with his defense, with rookie linebacker Abdul Carter benched for the opening drives.

“I let my team down today. First two drives, I was out; they scored 17 points. I take responsibility for that. I got to be out there, I got to do better,” Carter said.

According to the interim head coach, Abdul Carter needs to show his feelings for playing with his teammates through his actions instead of words. As Carter sat on the sidelines, the Pats utilized the drives in the first quarter to go ahead 17-0. That was enough lead for the Pats to win against the Giants.

Once the rookie entered the game in the second quarter, he immediately asserted his dominance by sacking quarterback Drake Maye. Overall, he finished the game with four tackles (two solo) and one sack. But the benching decision was the highlight of the 33-15 loss.

This is his second consecutive game in which Abdul Carter missed the opening drive. During the Week 12 game against the Green Bay Packers, they benched him after he missed a walkthrough. The coaches thought he was asleep, but Carter claimed he was getting treatment.

This is the new way in which they are telling players to be more accountable. The head coach also explained his stance.

Mike Kafka takes ownership of benching Abdul Carter

Kafka was also asked about the benching. He took accountability for the decision, but wasn’t worried.

“The standards that we have in our program are sky-high, and everyone’s going to be upheld to them. That was my decision, my decision only. Anything else outside of it is going to be kept in-house,” Kafka said.

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The head coach spoke highly of the rookie’s abilities and claimed he supported Carter’s vision wholeheartedly. But without diving into the exact reasons why he benched him for the opening drives, Kafka said that they were preparing the rookies for big-time roles. That’s right!

Abdul Carter has played thirteen games and recorded 31 tackles (13 solo), 1.5 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery in his rookie season. But the recent benching has shown that not everything is good between the head coach and the rookie player.