The New York Giants began their preseason with a 34-25 win over the Buffalo Bills. The game featured strong performances from all four quarterbacks, including rookie Jaxson Dart, who made his NFL debut.
Head coach Brian Daboll addressed questions about playing starters in the preseason, saying, “I thought we needed that. We’ll do it again. We’re going to play in the preseason. People that are able to play are going to play, and if they’re not able to play or a doctor or a trainer says it’d be smart to hold them out, we’ll hold them out, but other than that, we’re going to play.”
General manager Joe Schoen added, “We’ve got to be ready to play when September comes.”
The Giants will have joint practices with the New York Jets on Tuesday in Florham Park and Wednesday in East Rutherford before facing them at MetLife Stadium next Saturday.
Dart finished his first NFL appearance with 154 passing yards and a touchdown on 12 of 19 attempts. He also led the team with 24 rushing yards on three carries. Daboll commented on Dart’s performance: “Just about what I thought he would do. Efficient, effective, aggressive, confident in the pocket. Some stuff we can work on, but he’s doing good.
“Look, there’s things he can be better at, but we missed some opportunities on third down, some drops that would have even been better for him and for us. But he’s a confident young player. He’s improved since he’s been here. Still have a long way to go, but I enjoy working with him. I like his demeanor on the sideline. He sees the game well.”
Dart said after the game: “I expect myself to play well whenever I’m on the field,” adding that preparation was key: “I felt really prepared coming into this week and just the preparation I put into each and every day. I felt like when I got out there on the field, it was just football at that point.”
Daboll praised Dart’s toughness and leadership: “We saw that on tape at Ole Miss, though… He’s tough… He’s got leadership. I think we threw the ball 51 times and didn’t have a sack today. Credit the offensive line first and foremost.”
All four Giants quarterbacks led scoring drives during the game without taking a single sack across 51 pass attempts—a result backed by Pro Football Focus data showing only nine total pressures allowed by the offensive line.
Veteran quarterback Russell Wilson completed six of seven passes for 28 yards during his brief time on the field and said afterward: “I thought we did a good job… It’s so funny because I think these preseason games mean so much… And I thought we did a great job of that…”
Schoen highlighted Wilson’s experience: “Being a pro and a vet that’s been doing it for a long time… you can feel that out there today… There aren’t any defenses that he hasn’t seen before…”
Jameis Winston completed seven of eleven passes for 62 yards and threw one touchdown pass; Tommy DeVito added another touchdown while completing ten of fourteen passes.
Wilson credited his offensive line: “I thought the O-line did a great job… They did a good job keeping space for me… Receivers got open quickly in an on-time manner…”
Among rookies making an impact was outside linebacker Abdul Carter—the No. 3 overall pick—who recorded pressures against Buffalo’s starting left tackle Dion Dawkins during limited snaps.
Joe Schoen remarked about Carter and Dart: “I thought both of those guys did a good job… I’m happy with where both of those guys are.” Daboll added regarding both first-round picks: “It definitely didn’t seem too big for them… each day they’re continuing to get better…”
Rookie Marcus Mbow played both tackle positions during extended action and allowed only one pressure in 35 pass-blocking snaps according to PFF statistics.
Schoen noted Mbow’s quiet effectiveness: “When we don’t recognize them… that’s typically a good thing at the tackle position.”
Tight end Thomas Fidone II caught three passes for 22 yards—including one notable one-handed grab—and converted a two-point attempt.
Despite positive signs from rookies and veterans alike, Daboll stressed ongoing improvement: “With all of these, with the rookies, with our team… it’s one preseason game,” he said. “There’s some good stuff, and there’s a lot of things we need to correct…”
