New York Giants have concerns about their 1-3 record and rookie sensation Malik Nabers

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The New York Giants' 1-3 record roughly a quarter of the way through the season isn't the only concern for coach Brian Daboll, and it might not even be the biggest.

The stress is probably higher when it comes to sensational rookie receiver Malik Nabers. The No. 6 overall pick in the draft left Thursday night's 20-15 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the final minutes after sustaining a concussion.

Daboll said Nabers was at the Giants headquarters on Friday and was in the concussion protocol. That means he cannot practice until he is cleared by New York's medical personnel and an independent neurological consultant. He was in team meetings as the Giants went over the Dallas film.

Nabers and the Giants will have more than a week to get ready to face the Seahawks (3-0) in Seattle on Oct. 6. Seattle plays at Detroit on Sunday.

“Yeah, we’ll just take it day by day here and see where he’s at,” Daboll said Friday when asked what the offense would do if Nabers wasn't ready for the Seattle game.

Nabers leads the Giants with 35 catches for 386 yards and three touchdowns. He caught a career-high 12 passes for 115 yards against Dallas, including a 39-yarder that was the team's longest completion of the season. It was his second 100-yard game. The LSU product has seven catches for at least 20 yards and 19 first-down receptions, and he has been the target on 52 of Jones' 144 pass attempts.

He has been the main component of an offense that is producing yards but not many points. Greg Joseph kicked five field goals to account for New York's points against the Cowboys.

Despite the slow start, Daboll is optimistic. The offensive line is playing better than a year ago. The receivers are making big plays. The defense has held three opponents to 21 points or less. The sticking point is the offense, which is averaging 15 points.

“There’s games we’ve performed well in the red zone and then there’s games that we haven’t. So, the consistency factor really needs to improve,” Daboll said.

Daniel Jones. The 27-year-old quarterback has been solid the past three games after struggling in the opener and handing the Vikings a touchdown on an interception return. He threw two picks that game.

Since then, he has hit 69 of 102 for 695 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. That pick was a last-second heave Thursday night with New York needing a TD to win.

“He’s played well," Daboll said of Jones. ”He’s seeing the field. He’s delivered the ball where he needs to. Again, we had some opportunities to continue drives today, as well. I’m proud of how he’s performed."

The run game. Facing the NFL's worst run defense, the Giants gained only 26 yards on 24 carries. Devin Singletary had 14 carries for 24 yards and came close to losing his third fumble in as many games. Dallas challenged a “down by contact” ruling but lost. Stopping the run, though, was the difference. How bad are things? New York has rushed for 341 yards and two touchdowns in four games. Saquon Barkley has 351 yards rushing and four touchdowns in three games in his new home in Philadelphia.

WR Wan'Dale Robinson. With opponents giving Nabers more attention each week, Robinson has emerged as Jones' next-best option. He was targeted 14 times against Dallas and finished with a career-best 11 catches for 71 yards. He also showed a lot of fight in picking up needed yards after the catch.

CB Deonte Banks. The 2023 first-round draft pick was supposed to be the shut-down cornerback for New York. He has consistently drawn an opponent's top receiver. He has stayed close to Justin Jefferson of Minnesota, Amari Cooper of Cleveland and CeeDee Lamb of Dallas but he's giving up big plays. Jefferson had a 44-yard catch in the opener. Cooper caught a 24-yard TD on the Browns' first play and Lamb had a 55-yard TD on a catch and run Thursday night. Banks needs to start breaking up those passes.

The biggest concern is Nabers and his concussion. Cornerbacks Dru Phillips and Adoree Jackson missed Friday night with calf injuries.

0 — The Giants have not scored a touchdown at home in two games.

Roughly 10 days to rest, get healthy and figure things out before heading west to take on the Seahawks in Seattle.

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New York Giants running back Devin Singletary (26) carries the ball against the Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter of an NFL football game, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) reacts after sacking Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) during the second quarter of an NFL football game, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Amani Oruwariye (27) pulls down New York Giants wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson (17) during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) reacts after a first down against the Dallas Cowboys during the third quarter of an NFL football game, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) passes against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) talks with New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) on the field after playing in an NFL football game, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll comments to field judge Tom Hill (97) during the first quarter of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Giants have concerns about their 1-3 record and rookie sensation Malik Nabers

New York Giants have concerns about their 1-3 record and rookie sensation Malik Nabers

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) is helped off the field after an injury during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — They were sharing the world stage to discuss a plan to give young people more input in decisions that shape lives. And 26-year-old Daphne Frias, talking to the head of the United Nations, had thoughts.

“Truly, it’s time for the people who do so much of the talking to do less of the talking," the disability and climate activist told Secretary-General António Guterres. “And to have the voices of my generation ... lead."

Their exchange this month, at a leadup event to the U.N. General Assembly's meeting of nations' leaders, was a measure of diplomacy's generation gap.

A big young cohort is coming of age in a troubled world, and it's coming with ideas about inclusion, participation and authority. Those ideas are nudging the hierarchical, bureaucratic ways of an international order set up when their grandparents were kids or not even born.

“My generation messed up when it comes to the world today," the 75-year-old U.N. chief told Frias and an audience of activists and others in the vast, coolly elegant assembly hall.

The world needs a new generation that understands “we are living to disaster" and can turn it around, Guterres said, adding emphatically: “We cannot do that if your generation is not part of the decision-making process that is still controlled by my generation that messed up."

But how to make that change in a global system and governments largely run by older people, and a United Nations that has tried to engage the young but still has some procedures, protocol — and even architecture — reflecting what was “modern” more than seven decades ago? Does the U.N. matter, anyway, to a social-network-native generation with its own means of connecting and organizing across borders, and with a sense of urgency that chafes at the pace of intergovernmental accords?

Marinel Sumook Ubaldo, a 27-year-old Filipina climate activist, has been involved in U.N. conferences and believes the world body can be a valuable platform for advocacy. But so can grassroots organizing and building public pressure outside big organizations, Ubaldo says.

“If the U.N. can shift from symbolic inclusion to truly empowering youth with decision-making authority and accountability mechanisms, I would say it would remain relevant,” she said. “But if not, young people will continue to forge new paths.”

Over 1.9 billion people — nearly a quarter of the world population — are between ages 10 and 24. But young people are sparse in the corridors of power. Under 3% of members of national legislatures are under 30, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, a global group of such bodies.

Of course, today's young activists aren't the first to worry about the world they're inheriting, to yearn to be heard or to feel they can't wait patiently for the creaky wheels of change to turn.

But this generation has been steeped in a particular brew of risks and crises: post-9/11 wars and security culture, a financial meltdown, a pandemic, billions of people living in conflict zones, a planet that's warming at the fastest rate ever measured. And, with the rise of social media, the generation's ideas about solutions to such challenges move around faster than ever before.

As Frias puts it, “we don’t have time for dues to be paid" to try to influence things.

“We constantly get told that we are inspirational, that we’re doing a great job, that we are the future,” Frias, an American-born daughter of Dominican immigrants, said in an interview. “But inspiration doesn’t change the world. Action does."

Over the years, the U.N. has made various overtures to young people. An assistant secretary-general for youth affairs, Felipe Paullier, was tapped last year. There had previously been a lower-level youth envoy.

A roster of youth delegates, advisory groups and more have taken part in U.N. activities over the decades. Some have attracted considerable attention, including speeches by Afghan girls' education advocate and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, climate activist Greta Thunberg and K-pop stars BTS.

A 2018 initiative called “Youth 2030” is meant to make young people “full-fledged partners” in the U.N.’s work. A recent update said progress has been “steady but slower than desired.”

Now comes the “ Pact for the Future,” a wide-ranging document approved Sunday at a summit that kicked off this year’s big General Assembly gathering. The pact includes pledges to spend more on youth services, to create jobs and to promote “meaningful youth participation" in national policymaking and U.N. processes.

That might sound bland to the casual observer. But through a U.N. lens, devoting a chapter to youth and future generations in a laboriously negotiated global blueprint — and getting 193 nations to sign off — elevates and enshrines youths as a priority.

“Ten or 15 years ago, you know, young people were just seen as beneficiaries of policies,” Paullier, 33, said in an interview. “There are many things changing that are showing institutions, decision-makers, are saying, 'OK, we need to engage with them as partners.'"

There's still far to go, he notes.

Nudhara Yusuf, who co-chaired a civil society conference that helped prepare for the recent summit, says the U.N. has made "a real turn" toward engaging young people. Now it's a question of making promises of “meaningful” participation ... meaningful.

“How do you go beyond just putting someone on a panel? How do you ensure that they’re part of the dialogue offstage, as well?” asks Yusuf, 25. Born in Britain and raised in India, she's a researcher at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.

Young activists also may lack the resources to move in international circles when it entails far-flung travel. While many have started organizations and done fundraising, some say it's hard getting past a “youth organization” rubric to tap bigger pools of grants, despite working on broader issues.

Amani Joel Mafigi, who co-founded an entrepreneurship organization in Uganda, thinks the U.N. should establish a youth empowerment fund to back climate, social justice and innovation initiatives. The 27-year-old offered that suggestion to the secretary-general at the same event with Frias.

In an interview, Mafigi added that he'd want young “changemakers” to be central to structuring such a fund and steering its work.

“I have seen how much young people with little resources can do and can achieve within a minimum period of time, with less bureaucratic processes," said Mafigi, who fled Congo as a refugee in 2008.

Guterres told him, Frias and others in the assembly hall that the U.N. aims to add more young staffers and to give youths a voice “when things are being decided, not when things have been decided.”

“But, I mean, let’s be clear: Power is never given. Power is taken,” Guterres said. “So I encourage young people not to be afraid to fight for their rights.”

See more of AP’s coverage of the U.N. General Assembly at https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations

Daphne Frias speaks during an event at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Daphne Frias speaks during an event at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Daphne Frias speaks during an event at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Daphne Frias speaks during an event at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

In this photo taken from video, Daphne Frias, right, engages with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024 during a panel discussion at UN headquarters. (UNTV via AP)