The annual New York Giants vs. New York Jets preseason game is a strange animal. There is a rivalry, of sorts, between the two teams, but it doesn’t have much juice since the two teams play in different conferences and have both been among the NFL’s worst teams more often than not in recent memory. It’s nothing like Yankees-Mets games, which pit two contenders…oh wait, never mind.
The Jets have had the upper hand lately in both the pre-season (the Giants haven’t won the “Snoopy Bowl” since 2019) and regular season (the Jets have won the last three meetings). If you lament the Giants’ mostly poor play overall since their last Super Bowl, though, Jets’ fans have had it even worse, their team not even sniffing the playoffs since 2010.
This year, Giants fans sense something more important – the possibility that their team may finally be developing some of the pieces needed to become a contender. Could they build on the positives they took from their win over Buffalo last week? Would lingering questions about weak spots begin to be answered? What did playing time and performance tonight tell us about the eventual 53-man roster?
The Jets aren’t the Buffalo Bills, but the Giants’ 31-12 win tonight, their first over their co-tenants in a while, was pretty impressive in several departments. Let’s look at them.
The Giants have a (good) quarterback problem
Not really. Not for the moment. Tonight, though, here’s what we saw:
- Russell Wilson started and played into the second quarter. Midway through the second quarter, we got our first “moon ball.” It was delivered beautifully to Beaux Collins for an 80-yard gain down to the 1-yard line, with Devin Singetary subsequently taking it in for the touchdown. Wilson tried Collins again later, but that ball was intercepted in the end zone, most likely due to Collins reading the safety incorrectly. The Giants have a long and proud history of quarterbacks who loved the deep ball, from Charlie Conerly, Y.A. Tittle, and Fran Tarkenton through to Eli Manning. It’s been years, though, since we saw the Giants open things up on offense, except when Tyrod Taylor was in the game.
- Jaxson Dart entered the game midway through the second quarter. He had no spectacular plays, throwing mostly short (4.1 ADOT) passes, but he looked fully in command of the offense, making quick reads and good decisions. Dart completed 14 of 16 passes for 137 yards and a TD to tight end Greg Dulcich. Of course Sauce Gardner wasn’t out there, but you can only play against the guys who are. He won’t start in Week 1. Maybe he won’t start until Week 18 if Wilson has a successful season. We haven’t seen anything, though, to suggest that the Giants made a mistake moving up to draft him.
Do the Giants no longer have a pass protection problem?
There’s a reason Russell Wilson was able to throw that first quarter moon ball:
And look at the protection on Jaxson Dart’s 20-yard TD pass to Greg Dulcich:
They are doing this with James Hudson III and Marcus Mbow at left tackle, not Andrew Thomas. Hudson surrendered a sack tonight, but it was the only one given up by the offensive line. Jermaine Eluemunor has been rock solid on the other side, and Josh Ezeudu may have salvaged his Giants career being back at left guard, to which he is more suited.
The Giants have a (good) tight end problem
I don’t think there’s a Brock Bowers on this team. What I do think, though, is that the Giants have a big group of tight ends who can catch the ball and run, not lumber, with it when they do. Dulcich had the 20-yard TD. Starter Theo Johnson had a 30-yard pass play that was all YAC:
Rookie Thomas Fidone II caught a ball tonight after having a few catches last week. You have to think Chris Manhertz will make the 53 for his blocking skills. Daniel Bellinger, though, has not yet played and could be the odd man out. Will the Giants keep four tight ends?
The run defense is still an issue
This is a premature statement on my part. Dexter Lawrence has not played a preseason snap. Roy Robertson-Harris had his second consecutive strong game against the run, with four tackles, two of them stops (i.e., unsuccessful rushes by the offense given down and distance). It’s looking like that pair will be the starters inside, and if that’s the case, things should be OK…when they are on the field. But interior linemen can’t play 60 snaps. Third-round pick Darius Alexander did have his first tackle tonight, but he’s been pretty much invisible in his first two games. Elijah Chatman, a darling briefly last season, made a bigger impact tonight as a fullback than on defense. The other names, young and veteran alike, don’t seem to be the answer.
We’ll see in two weeks when the Giants open their season in Washington. The Commanders beat the Giants in Washington last year primarily by running the ball. If the Giants can’t stop that, then their potentially elite pass rush (which had four hits and four hurries tonight but no sacks) will not prevent teams from moving up and down the field.
Cor’Dale Flott states his case
With Deonte Banks not playing tonight, Cor’Dale Flott started at CB2. He only played six snaps, but on the one play he was targeted, he broke up a pass intended for Garrett Wilson, the Jets’ best wide receiver:
It’s been Flott’s M.O. as a Giant to come up with big coverage plays in important situations – he had one on third down near the end of the Giants’ playoff win in Minnesota three seasons ago. The question has always been how well his slight frame could stand up over the long haul, and how he would fare against more physical wide receivers. Still, if Banks isn’t back on the field soon, and more importantly, if he doesn’t start to make a positive impact by demonstrating ball skills, we could see Flott out there in Week 1.
An interesting side note: Flott was on Wilson because Paulson Adebo, ostensibly the Giants’ CB1, stayed on the left side of the defense rather than traveling with the Jets’ WR1. The Jets mainly ran the ball while Justin Fields was in the game. It will be interesting to see whether the Giants keep Adebo on the left side once the regular season begins, and for how long if opponents consistently run their WR1 to the right side.
See More:
