New York Giants: Positives/Negatives after first preseason game

On Thursday night, the New York Giants walked out of MetLife Stadium with a preseason record of 1-0 after beating the New York Jets by the score of 31-22. With many ups and downs throughout the night, there’s a lot to discuss.

The New York Jets and New York Giants played a hard-fought game no matter who was on the field, despite a long delay in the first half due to thunderstorms surrounding the area. As the Giants now look to prepare for the Chicago Bears next Friday, let’s analyze both the good and the bad against Gang Green.

Positives

Daniel Jones – The undisputed breakout player of the game, the much-maligned rookie shined in his only drive of the night. Jones was 5/5, throwing for 67 yards which included a strike to the corner of the end zone for the Giants’ first touchdown. He also put up a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3.

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While it’s worth mentioning that this was a preseason game against Jets’ backup defenders, it’s still good to see Jones already beginning to prove doubters wrong. On a somewhat related note, Dwayne Haskins‘ debut resulted in a stat line of 117 yards and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Again, it’s way too early to make any real assumptions, but a lot of signs are currently pointing to another solid pick by the Giants’ front office.

T.J. Jones – Signed just two weeks ago, the former Lions wide receiver stepped up in a big way against the Jets. He caught all 6 of his targets for 72 yards, with the highlight being an impressive 31-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Kyle Lauletta. Due to a poor throw by Lauletta, the 27-year old twisted his body to make a tough catch while surrounded by opposing defenders. With Sterling Shepard‘s injury and Golden Tate‘s suspension, Jones is stepping up when called.

Jake Carlock – The undrafted free agent from LIU Post was the defensive star of the night, mostly due to his surprising 59-yard interception returned for a touchdown. With the Giants up by just 2 points, the rookie linebacker picked off familiar quarterback Davis Webb and took it to the house.

Carlock also finished the night with a sack, as he began to make his case for a roster spot.

Negatives

Running Backs – With Saquon Barkley sitting out, many were hopeful that backups Wayne Gallman and Paul Perkins would step up. Gallman had a rough start to the game which resulted in a 3 and out for the Giants starting offense, leading to some boos from the crowd. He didn’t get much better as the game went on, finishing with just five carries for 13 yards, a 2.6 yards per carry average. The final numbers look even worse when you factor in that 9 of his 13 yards came on just one play, meaning that his other four carries went for 4 yards.

Perkins wasn’t much better, as he ended the night with four carries for 9 yards. (2.3 yards per carry) It looks like the rushing attack needs to be carried by Saquon Barkley for the second consecutive season.

Poor Starting Defense – Outside of a dropped interception by the newly acquired Jabrill Peppers on the first play from scrimmage, the Giants 1st team defenders barely made any noise. Peppers also got beat a few plays later, resulting in a 33-yard gain.

Not one of the starting players registered a sack, as Jets starter Sam Darnold comfortably finished his first drive with 68 yards and a touchdown on 4/5 passing.

Even the Jets’ backup quarterback Trevor Siemian navigated the pocket with ease, ending his night connecting on 13/16 of his attempts for 77 yards and a touchdown. While it may just be a result of the defense being rusty in their first preseason game, it was alarming to see the Jets offense easily make their way down the field against the Giants’ starters.

With the opening preseason game in the books for the New York Giants, there was a lot more to like than dislike. Daniel Jones took his first steps in proving himself worthy of a top-10 pick and hopefully he can build upon this in these next few preseason matchups. A win is also important for team morale, regardless of what it means in the long term. For the boys in blue, this is a great way to start the season.