The New York Giants wrapped up their preseason on Thursday night with a sloppy but impressive victory over the New England Patriots.
Injuries will be the big story on Friday, but as Thursday night closes, we take a look at the winners, losers and everything in between from the preseason finale.
Winners
Daniel Jones: In his first-ever NFL start, Jones saw just one series in which he went 4-of-4 for 47 yards, but failed to put the Giants in the end zone due to two consecutive run stuffs for the Patriots on 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1. He did, however, drop an absolute dime to Golden Tate for 23 yards.
Kyle Lauletta: Lauletta had a chance to be the night’s hero, and it was clearly meant to be. He out-played Alex Tanney and made a strong case to remain on the roster while completing 22 of his 40 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns in an impressive comeback victory.
Wayne Gallman: While he may have averaged fewer yards per carry than Paul Perkins, Gallman was relatively consistent all night long and his Ahmad Bradshaw-like touchdown may have secured him the RB2 role.
R.J. McIntosh: McIntosh made noise from the jump on Thursday night, dominating the first defensive series of the game and then maintaining steady production through the game. He finished the game with one tackle and one QB hit, but he was far more disruptive than that would lead you to believe.
Ronald Zamort: Zamort faced a real challenge on Thursday night going up against the likes of Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon, but he more than held his own, recording two tackles and breaking up two passes before leaving the game with an ill-timed ankle injury.
Others: Golden Tate, Jake Ceresna, Sean Chandler
Losers
Alex Tanney: In his final dress rehearsal, Tanney may have left the door wide open for Kyle Lauletta to burst through. Although his receivers let him down a time or two, Tanney finished the night 4-of-12 for 53 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He repeatedly under-threw his receivers, including one to Alonzo Russell that could have been a huge gain.
Henre’ Toliver: It was an extremely busy night for the corner and film review might land Toliver in the “mixed” category, but upon first view, it was a rough night for the AAF import. He missed a key tackle in the first quarter, committed pass interference (questionable) and gave up a 35-yard touchdown to Demaryius Thomas just to name a few hiccups.
Julian Love: Love logged an extensive amount of field time against the Patriots and while there were a few good moments, he often seemed over-matched against legitimate NFL quality players. He gave up a few big plays early, including touchdown to Demaryius Thomas.
Paul Perkins: A quick glance at the stats might tell a different story than what was seen on the field for Perkins. While he did have a nice 24-yard run in the second half, he gained just 30 yards on 10 carries outside of that, including two ugly stuffs on 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1 in the first quarter where he failed to bounce the runs to the outside.
Terrell Sinkfield: Sinkfield made a beautiful special teams tackle on a punt and later a nice run stuff, but those were the highlights of his night. Outside of that, he struggled, getting called for a penalty and finding himself beat in several other one-on-one situations. Sadly, Thursday night may turn out to be Sinkfield’s final NFL game.
Defensive line: With the exception of McIntosh and a few spot flashes here and there, the Giants’ defensive line was truly lacking on Thursday night. They were pushed around by the Patriots on the ground and were unable to generate much pressure on pass plays. It was a less than encouraging sign regarding the team’s depth.
Referees: Late in the first quarter, a Patriots defender clearly interfered with Alonzo Russell. Since the play wasn’t flagged, Pat Shurmur challenged and the replay clearly showed PI. Somehow, the call stood. Obvious flaws with the rules/PI challenge, especially when you consider later PI calls that appeared to be clean.
Others: Brian Mihalik, Reggie White Jr.
Mixed reviews
B.J. Goodson: Goodson made an early impact with a few big tackles and a sack coming off a blitz that wasn’t picked up, but fell off a bit as the game wore on. On several occasions, Goodson wasn’t able to shed his blocker leading to big runs, which is a troubled area for the Giants. It’s possible that James Bettcher’s hybrid defense just isn’t the right fit for him.
Alonzo Russell: It was an up-and-down night for Russell, who once again put his hustle on display, while hauling in five receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns. However, that production came on 15 targets, which makes it easy to explain some of his lapses — dropped passes, failing to generate separation and miscommunication with his quarterbacks.
Others: Victor Salako, Evan Brown, T.J. Jones and Tenny Adewusi.
