The New York Giants used their second preseason game against the Houston Texans as a dress rehearsal for the regular season. The first offense played the entire first half, while the Texans’ regular players played one quarter before being replaced by their substitutes.
It was a great opportunity to take a look at the Giants’ newly formed offensive line, powerful receivers, explosive pass rush, rejuvenated defensive backfield and, of course, quarterback Daniel Jones, who made his comeback in a live game after tearing his ACL last November.
Here are our grades for the Giants’ units in the 28-10 loss.
Quarterbacks: D
Many may feel that this grade should be lower, and that would be understandable given that Daniel Jones’ post-snap decisions and ball placement have been inconsistent.
His first pass of the game, a short outside route to Malik Nabers, should have been intercepted when he hit a Texans defensive back in the chest with the ball before he fell harmlessly to the ground.
His first pass on the Giants’ second series ended in a Texans touchdown when Jones threw a pass into the flat while in the grasp of a Texans defender who was being pushed back in the end zone. It was a panicked throw that highlighted Jones’ discomfort in the pocket.
The Giants’ third series ended when Jones’ deep 50/50 ball to Jalin Hyatt was intercepted.
He completed three of his first seven passes for 19 yards and two interceptions. He settled down and finished the first half against Houston’s secondary 8-11 for 119 yards.
When Tommy Devito took over in the second half, he continued his inconsistency, completing 10 of his 19 passes for 75 yards. Neither quarterback threw a touchdown.
Recipient: B
This receiving group should have had more than their three 15-yard receptions against the Lions in Week 1 of the preseason. In their performance, Malik Nabers failed to catch a single pass and Jalin Hyatt had one catch for zero yards.
In that preseason game, all four primary receivers were in the lineup. The first three series were difficult for obvious reasons. During that time, Nabers dropped a third-down pass that he had attacked with one hand.
Hyatt didn’t appear to be battling for the ball on Jones’ intercepted long pass. At the very least, he needs to switch to the defensive back position in this situation and prevent the pass from being intercepted.
The tide turned for the receivers in the second quarter when Darius Slayton ran past his defender and caught a 44-yard pass from Jones. He finished the game with three pass catches for a team-leading 59 yards.
Nabers got into the stat books with a five-yard run before the big Slayton catch. He followed that up with a three-yard catch, a 16-yard catch and a spectacular 21-yard pass down the sideline on the next series, where he ran after the pass, caught it out of the air and touched down with both toes inside the perimeter.
Wan’Dale Robinson scored his only attempt of the day, 12 yards. Hyatt was the only one who failed to catch either of his two attempts. On the second attempt, he made a great attempt to catch the ball one-handed down the sideline, but he couldn’t keep his feet in the field of play.
Attack line: B
The offensive line was not yet fully staffed, as their left guard Jon Runyan Jr. was missing due to shoulder problems. But all in all, the unit held up reasonably well.
Jones playing the entire first half meant we got a good look at the offensive line. The best thing that can be said about the line is that its members seemed connected and on the same wavelength.
They learned a stunt and were good in pass defense. Against the Texans’ first team, they weren’t as impressive in run blocking, but against the second and third teams, the Giants showed they have depth in run blocking and shined like they did last week.
The pass defense by the starters was good, but they quickly put pressure on the Texans’ first unit and the second defensive team sacked, which should not have happened.
Overall, it was a good performance in the trenches against another quality defense with explosive edge rushers. Health is one of the biggest issues this offensive line has struggled with in recent years, so the fact that we didn’t see the entire group together and they still played well is a plus for the depth they create.
With everyone fully on board, the personnel will have to answer some serious questions about what the starting eleven will look like, who will support them, and what positions they will support. This could be the start of line stability for the next few years.
Running backs: C
The backs were solid again, especially against Houston’s second and third defensive lines. Eric Gray and Lorenzo Lingard managed an average of over six yards per run on a few runs.
Devin Singletary made his Giants debut but was not consistently effective against the first unit. He managed a 10-yard run during the team’s third series. His other nine carries netted him 10 yards and a 1-yard touchdown run against the second unit.
Two yards per carry from their starter behind the offensive line isn’t exactly what they had in mind, and you can’t blame it all on Singletary. Still, there will be games where he only gets 10-15 touches and will have to perform better than he did in his first appearance as a Giant.
Defensive Front: C-
This was the team’s most uninspired performance. The Texans ran the ball well all game. The three star players on the front line – Kayvon Thibodeaux, Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence – were responsible for two total tackles. That’s a serious lack of productivity against the run.
Part of the lack of tackles was due to the Texans’ success in passing, which is also a disappointment for the front four. The Texans dropped back 38 times and the Giants defense failed to record a single sack.
Houston quarterback CJ Stroud was barely pressured during his outing and the other two players were never brought down. If this defense is designed to apply pressure from the front four, then this first dress rehearsal should be cause for concern.
One bright spot was non-drafted rookie free agent Elijah Chatman, who has the drive and athleticism needed to play a major role in the 3-tech.
Linebacker: B
The linebackers had a good day being around the football the whole time. The guys you would expect to perform well definitely did that.
Micah McFadden, who left the game with a hip injury, led the way with five tackles, including four solo. Bobby Okereke and Darrian Beavers each recorded four tackles.
KJ Cloyd was the surprise player at linebacker, recording five tackles. The linebackers have performed well throughout training camp and were good against the run in the first preseason game.
They still need to show a little more activity in pass coverage. This scheme is different than last season’s scheme, and it’s important to have the linebackers active in coverage underneath to close some of the passing windows where the receivers can sit.
Defensive Backs: C+
The Texans completed 63% of their passes for 255 yards and one touchdown, which at first glance suggests that the defensive backfield played poorly.
However, when you consider that there was little to no pass rushing presence, which will be important for this young defensive secondary, it starts to make some sense.
How long the defensive backs have to cover depends directly on how much pressure the pass rush exerts. The Giants’ secondary seemed to play a “bend but don’t break” defense.
The Texans’ receivers took advantage of the softer coverage and were able to do significant damage underneath it. With more effective pressure, the defensive backs will likely play more aggressively in coverage, as such soft coverage will definitely not lead to success in the regular season.
