It’s always fireworks when the New York Giants and New England Patriots throw down. It doesn’t matter if it’s the preseason or the Super Bowl (twice), these two teams always seem to do the New York – Boston rivalry justice. Thursday the Giants were the ones delivering the fireworks with their 42-10 victory over the Patriots.
This game, however, wasn’t about whether the Giants won or loss. This was about players on the bubble making the final roster, and two players put themselves in the spotlight. Both WR/ST Gunner Olszewski and iDL D.J. Davidson put an exclamation point on their respective cases to make the Giants’ 53-man roster.
Both players are veterans who were previously on the Giants roster, but their spots are in jeopardy thanks to injuries taking them off the field. Olszewski was the Giants’ primary punt returner until a groin injury cost him the 2024 season, while Davidson had his 2024 season ended by a shoulder injury.
Gunner Olszewski
Olszewski isn’t known as a receiving threat — he’s made his living as a punt returner and special teams ace. That didn’t stop him from making an immediate mark as a receiver on Thursday, with a huge 50-yard catch and run to start the game.
Jaxson Dart was able to find Olszewski on a scramble drill when the receiver bent a whip route downfield, finding the open field as Dart escaped the pocket.
Olszewski has always been great with the ball in his hands, and that’s been a big reason behind his success as a returner. He has fantastic vision and situational awareness, as well as quickness and agility, and he put it to good use on that play.
But while that was the highlight, Olszewski has been a consistent presence on the offensive side of the ball for the Giants this preseason. He’s played 60 offensive snaps over three games (per PFF), making 10 catches on 14 targets for 112 yards and a touchdown. He was 3 for 3 against the Patriots and showed off some precision route running as well as sure hands on a night when both Dart and Jameis Winston were victimized by drops and poor routes.
Olszewski’s technical prowess was, if anything, more impressive than his catch and run. Given how many yards and points the Giants left on the field, having a player who gives you high-ceiling depth on both offense and special teams is potentially huge. One of the biggest lessons from 2023 and 2024 has been that depth and redundancy are good things to have, and finding a roster spot for Olszewski as well as Ihmir Smith-Marsette could pay dividends down the road.
D.J. Davidson
The Giants didn’t have any starters playing on their defensive front, so Davidson, Elijah Chatman, and Darius Alexander were at the top of the rotation for this game.
Davidson, the Giants’ fifth-round pick (147th overall) in the 2022 NFL Draft, has been a bit of a forgotten man in the defensive line room. He’s flashed, but never consistently enough to do more than hang around the periphery of the defensive tackle rotation. At 6-foot-5, 320 pounds, he’s one of the few players on the Giants’ roster capable of being a true nose tackle behind Dexter Lawrence.
Thursday, Davidson stepped up and was in the middle of an active and suffocating Giants’ defense.
You wouldn’t know it from the box score — he had just one assisted tackle — but Davidson was a handful for the Patriots’ offensive line. He routinely commanded double teams and was consistently clogging the middle of their defense, forcing backs to find cutback lanes and allowing second and third level players to flow downhill to the ball. He was also a factor in pass defense, helping to clog passing lanes with his hands as well as collapsing the pocket up front. Davidson even drew a holding call to back up the Patriots offense.
There’s been a question as to how many defensive tackles the Giants would carry — particularly since their “NASCAR” package has seen them use just one. The flip side of which is the question of who backs up Lawrence on normal downs and distances? Davidson may just have answered that question, as well as given the Giants a fifth true defensive tackle, as Chatman seems to be reserved for situations that call for disruption.
All told, Davidson had himself a great end to a solid preseason. He’s been both stout and disruptive with great play strength, good technique, and surprising quickness off the ball. He might not be a lock to make the team, but he definitely made a strong case for himself.
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