The New York Giants continued their preseason slate on Friday night against the Chicago Bears at MetLife Stadium — a game Big Blue won by a score of 32-13.
Overall, the game was relatively sloppy for both teams, but that’s the nature of preseason games — teams are just getting things going and there are both bumps in the road and unexpected hiccups.
Ultimately, there was much to glean, so let’s take a look at the initial winners and losers from the Week 2 preseason exhibition.
Winners
Kevin Zeitler: Zeitler and the starting offensive line played just two series, but made their presence felt. On the first series of the game, Zeitler mauled several defenders on runs by Rod Smith, pushing his defenders back several yards at a time, creating additional room for the backs to work.
Rhett Ellison: Ellison had one reception for nine yards, but that’s obviously not what earned his way onto this list. Rather, Ellison once again put his blocking prowess on display, helping to lead an early touchdown drive.
Mike Remmers: Remmers delivered one of the most impactful blocks of the game on the Giants’ initial series, removing a defender from his feet and planting him firmly on his backside. It was a thing of beauty.
Ryan Connelly: After impressing in Week 1 of the preseason, Connelly followed it up with another solid performance on Friday night. And as was the case against the Jets, it’s best just to avoid his numbers in the box score because that’s not where he makes his impact. Connelly flies around side-to-sideline, plays with reckless abandon and just generally disrupts everything.
Paul Perkins: After a rough game against the Jets, Perkins rebounded nicely against the Bears and made an impact across the board. Not only did he gain 35 yards on six carries and haul in both of his targets for an additional 30 yards, he also had a few nice blitz pickups that provided his quarterback more time.
Jonathan Hilliman: On a night when Perkins and Smith played well, Hilliman needed to step up for the sake of his job. Mission accomplished. The rookie led the team with 56 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries. He also added one reception for three yards.
Others: Eli Manning, Cody Latimer, Bennie Fowler, Markus Golden, R.J. McIntosh, Alonzo Russell, Brittan Golden, Nate Stupar, Jonathan Anderson and Will Hernandez.
Losers
Dalvin Tomlinson: Tomlinson did have a tackle for a loss in Week 2, but during the Giants’ first defensive series, he consistently found himself losing at the point of attack, allowing a second-string Bears offense to move the ball with concerning ease.
Evan Brown: In a battle for a spot on the 53-man roster, Brown slipped up a bit on Friday night with a sub par performance highlighted by a holding call that cost the Giants a first down and eventually led to a three-and-out.
Chad Slade: After replacing Mike Remmers, Slade wasted little time in putting his fingerprints on the game — just not in the way he had hoped. He was beaten by James Vaughters, who promptly turned Slade completely around en route to a strip sack of rookie quarterback Daniel Jones. It set the Bears up in scoring range, but they ultimately failed to convert on a short field goal attempt.
Others: Henre’ Toliver
A little of both
Daniel Jones: Jones had a true up-and-down rookie performance on Friday night, but his resiliency should not be dismissed. While not perfect like his debut against the Jets, Jones was solid against the Bears, putting two lost fumbles behind him to finish the game 11-of-14 for 161 yards and one beautiful touchdown pass to T.J. Jones.
Lorenzo Carter: Although Carter did draw a hold early in the second quarter, he failed to set the edge on a run that was sniffed out by linebacker Ryan Connely and others in the first quarter, allowing a long run on what should have been a tackle for a loss. The Bears went on to connect on a field goal on that drive.
Rod Smith: Smith started the game on fire and was initially in our “winners” column, but he wasn’t able to carry that success for the duration. A second quarter fumble really hurt his stock, and by the time all was said and done, Smith went from averaging over 5.5 yards per carry to 4.2 yards per carry, which is still an impressive clip.
T.J. Jones: After an impressive Giants debut against the Jets in Week 1, Jones struggled a bit against the Bears, mishandling a punt and tripping during a route that threw of the quarterback-receiver timing. But he was able to rebound and connect with Daniel Jones on a few nice pass plays, including a late second quarter touchdown with under 2:00 remaining.
Others: Scott Simonson, Nick Gates, Chad Wheeler, Alex Tanney, Reggie White Jr., Garrett Dickerson and Corey Ballentine.
