Russell Wilson and Jaxson Dart made their first appearances for the New York Giants in a preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills, resulting in a 34-25 victory on the road. Wilson, a 10-time Pro Bowl quarterback, started the game and completed his first six passes to four different receivers for 28 yards before a tipped pass ended the opening drive. The Giants settled for a 53-yard field goal by Graham Gano after penalties stalled their progress.
General manager Joe Schoen commented on Wilson’s presence: “Being a pro and a vet that’s been doing it for a long time, you can feel that at practice, you can feel that out there today. The ball just comes out quick. There aren’t any defenses that he hasn’t seen before. He’s got very good command of the offense, and I feel like you felt that today.”
Head coach Brian Daboll emphasized the importance of playing time for starters: “You have to tackle,” Daboll said. “You don’t do a whole lot [in practice]. Some people do some live tackling, but it’s not much. There’s no substitute for a quarterback when he knows he can get hit. There’s no substitute for an offensive guard cleaning the pocket or being very physical in the run game in gang tackling. That’s the game of football.” He added before the game that all healthy starters would play: “I think that’s what our team needs.”
Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart entered after Wilson and led two scoring drives, including a 29-yard touchdown pass to Lil’Jordan Humphrey. Dart finished with 12 completions on 19 attempts for 154 yards and one touchdown, also leading the team with 24 rushing yards on three carries.
Marcus Mbow, drafted in the fifth round from Purdue, played both tackle positions during his debut and received positive feedback from Schoen: “We were talking at halftime like it’s been kind of quiet over there on the right side,” Schoen said. “It seems like Mbow is doing a good job. We’ll have to watch the film, but he’s done a good job thus far. When we don’t recognize them, you don’t hear their name, that’s typically a good thing at the tackle position.”
Andrew Thomas remains sidelined on the physically unable to perform list following foot surgery last season; running back Eric Gray is also unavailable due to injury.
Jameis Winston took over as quarterback in the second half and threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Gunner Olszewski. Rookie tight end Thomas Fidone II caught Winston’s two-point conversion attempt.
On defense, Dexter Lawrence set expectations high during training camp after an offseason focused on improvement. The Giants’ defense forced an early three-and-out against Bills backup Mitchell Trubisky with notable plays from Micah McFadden and Roy Robertson-Harris.
Abdul Carter contributed pressures as expected from this year’s No. 3 overall pick. Schoen noted Carter’s performance: “I saw Abdul, he looks like he got a couple pressures,” Schoen said. “I’ll have to go back and see the film afterwards…I’m happy with where both of those guys are.”
Trace Ford recovered a late fumble which led to Tommy DeVito connecting with Jonathan Ward for another Giants touchdown near game’s end.
Deonte Banks started at cornerback opposite Paulson Adebo and recorded three solo tackles along with one pass breakup while competing with Cor’Dale Flott for his position.
Special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial addressed questions about kicker Graham Gano’s health following consecutive seasons impacted by injuries: “I thought he played his best ball towards the back quarter of the season,” Ghobrial said. “And it looked like he was the Graham Gano that everybody knows.” Gano made all three field goal attempts from beyond 50 yards during Saturday’s game.
Ghobrial elaborated further: “To me, the most successful kickers are 100 percent inside 45 yards…So he does have that 50-plus range still…he does have the ability to hit the big ball.”
Return specialist Ihmir Smith-Marsette helped set up points with punt and kickoff returns of 19 and 40 yards respectively.
Jude McAtamney added another field goal late in regulation.
Russell Wilson and Brian Burns served as gameday captains; players will vote later this month for full-season captains.
Recent roster moves include releasing Ty Summers (injury settlement), signing K.J. Cloyd (linebacker) and Jonathan Ward (running back), while waiving/injuring Rushawn Baker (running back).
The Giants will hold joint practices next week with the Jets ahead of their preseason matchup at MetLife Stadium on August 16th before hosting New England Patriots on August 21st in their final preseason contest.
