He’s the precocious apple of the Big Apple’s football eye, No. 1 for a reason.

Malik Nabers had already worked wonders for Daniel Jones, keeping the sky from falling on the Giants’ 2024 season.

Malik Nabers had made Brian Daboll fun again.

Malik Nabers had given hope to the restless fan base.

Nabers had made the Giants worth watching again.

He tried again to force the Giants past the Big, Bad Cowboys and almost succeeded.

He would finish with 12 catches for 115 yards…and his first NFL concussion.

He stood at his locker and chatted with Robbie Barnes, the Giants’ senior vice president of medical services, and Jalin Hyatt after the Cowboys 20 and Giants 15 games.

“Malik is tough… he’s a dude,” said Jon Runyan Jr. “He gives his best every single play, makes tough catches, takes some big hits and comes right back. I love seeing this as a newbie. I think he’s one of the leaders on this team since he’s so young. He’s doing his best, playing really hard, we like to see that. It kind of fires us up when he’s out there playing with a lot of passion.”

Nabers suffered his first NFL concussion on a fourth-and-6 sideline throw from Jones at the NYG 45 with 3:30 left with Trevon Diggs behind him that was ruled incomplete. It seemed like he jumped in with both feet, and the Giants thought it was a catch.

“From my perspective, it looked like he did it,” Jones said. “He played a great game again and put in a great performance for us. Keep trusting him.”

Nabers, chin in hand, then posted on Instagram: “All good (prayer hands emoji) Thanks for the prayers.”

But you can’t be the hero if your team can’t run the ball, you can’t threaten the entire field, and your quarterback can’t get your team into the end zone.

Jones had lost 12 of 13 in prime time and the Cowboys had used him as a piñata in their 40-0 humiliation in the 2023 home opener.

He was mercilessly mocked during and after the 2024 home opener.

He had gotten off the mat.

There were five FGs from Greg Joseph, but no TDs from Jones.

This was his chance to be Danny Dimetime. Danny Primetime.

There were 11 catches by Wan’Dale Robinson for 71 yards, but no touchdowns by Jones.

So Nabers wasn’t on the field when Jones, from his 49th with 28 seconds left on a rare FG miss by Brandon Aubrey, intercepted a desperation bomb for Hyatt at the Dallas 4.

Daboll had his quarterback behind him. “I thought the quarterback threw the ball where he needed to throw it to the guys he needed to throw it to,” Daboll said.

Jones (29 of 40, 281 yards) played flawlessly until the bitter end. He made good decisions. He did a lot of little plays, for Robinson, for Nabers.

But no big games when it really matters.

No touchdowns.

There were the familiar self-inflicted wounds and bad passes, and the bottom line is that Jones must be able to overcome the adversity that often surrounds him.

I asked Jones how frustrating it was for him to not be able to get his team into the end zone.

“Very frustrating,” he said. “Very frustrating. We’re expected to score touchdowns and put points up the field…We moved the ball well and executed a lot of things well, we didn’t execute the red zone stuff, we didn’t punch it in, so that’s frustrating.”

Nabers will need more help around him before the Giants can begin to close the gap on the Cowboys and Eagles.

Jones, who had an early free play on third-and-14 in the first half, intercepted an underthrow to Darius Slayton.

A long bomb for Nabers was a real “Hail Mary” into double coverage that was almost intercepted. “I have to beat them and give a guy a chance to make a play,” Jones said.

The Cowboys kept Nabers from forcing them deep, but Dak Prescott managed to hit Deonte Banks with a 55-yard catch-and-run touchdown to CeeDee Lamb.

Nabers caught passes from Jayden Daniels at LSU as the Cowboys ruthlessly defeated the Giants in a 40-0 loss that set a depressing and demoralizing tone for last season.

He wowed scouts as Giants fans left WetLife Stadium in despair. When too many Cowboys fans sang in the rain.

“We didn’t do enough to win,” Jones said.

No medals for trying things out. No medals for no touchdowns.