The New York Giants remained undefeated this preseason with a 25-23 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on Thursday night.
Overall, it was a sloppy contest with entirely too many penalties, drops and other miscues, but it was far from a wash for everyone. Several players stepped up big and may have earned their way onto the 53-man roster, while others may have played their way off of it.
Here’s a look at our winners, losers and everything in between from the game.
Winners
Eli Manning: A quick glance at Manning’s statistics would be less than impressive, but in what’s become a common theme, it wasn’t all on him. Eli finished the game going 4-of-8 for 41 yards, but three passes were dropped, including a would-be touchdown by wide receiver Cody Latimer.
Daniel Jones: Jones took his first big NFL hit when two defenders beat the tackles and pancaked him in the backfield, but he quickly rebounded. In fact, save for one sailed toss, the rookie looked good across the board, once again displaying his resilience en route to a 9-of-11 for 141 yards day.
Darius Slayton: In his NFL debut, Slayton came up big on a first-down reception off the arm of quarterback Daniel Jones, leaving his feet and high-pointing the ball over a passing defender. Had Slayton been able to keep his hand in bounds, it would have been a touchdown.
Garrett Dickerson: Whether it was blocking, receiving or just putting in the extra effort, Dickerson had a strong performance on Thursday night. The film will tell a better story, but on the initial watch, Dickerson kept himself in the hunt for the 53-man roster.
Others: Dexter Lawrence, Wayne Gallman, Kyle Lauletta, Alonzo Russell and B.J. Goodson.
Losers
Will Hernandez: Expected to be one of the most important Giants in 2019, Hernandez had arguably his worst professional game on Thursday night. Not only did he struggle with his run blocking, Hernandez committed three penalties (two accepted) and just generally looked out of sorts.
Nate Solder: The left side of the Giants’ line struggled all night, and that began with Solder. Like Hernandez, he struggled to run block, but also struggled in pass protection. Solder was beaten several times, including on a sack of Daniel Jones.
Cody Latimer: After an impressive summer, Latimer lapsed a bit against the Bengals, dropping two opening drive passes, including a would-be touchdown off the arm of quarterback Eli Manning. Instead of seven, the Giants settled for three.
Bennie Fowler: Fowler lands here simply because he caught a first down pass, ran it backwards behind the line and was tackled short, forcing the Giants to punt when they would have had a fresh set of downs if all he had done is fallen to the ground.
Others: Tae Davis, Olsen Pierre, Rod Smith, Johnny Townsend, Kenny Ladler, Terrell Sinkfield, Ronald Zamort and Alex Tanney.
Mixed
Jabrill Peppers: Peppers is going to get dragged for giving up a touchdown pass in the first half, but it seemed to be preceded by miscommunication between he and rookie Corey Ballentine. Other than that, it was a mixed bag for Peppers, who crashed down on a few runs, but also had a few other mistakes in coverage.
Corey Ballentine: It was an extreme up-and-down night for Ballentine, at times appearing like a solid starter, while struggling like a rookie at others. Considering how many reps Ballentine saw, it’s no surprise there was a mixed bag, but there are far more reasons to be encouraged than discouraged.
Oshane Ximines: The rookie recorded two sacks on the night, which normally would be enough to land him on the winners list, but he wasn’t flawless. Ximines missed at least one assignment and had a few other minor errors. All in all, he played well and the Giants should be encouraged.
Nate Stupar: After an impressive first half, Stupar fell apart in the second, missing at least five tackles and showing the Giants he may be a special teams-only player.
Brittan Golden: With precious few spots available at the position, Golden needed a strong performance and he almost had that. Both on offense and special teams, Golden showed up. He finished the game with two receptions for 59 yards, two kick returns for 41 yards and two punt returns for 73 yards and a touchdown. He also recovered a fumble for good measure. Unfortunately, on the down side of things, he also muffed a punt that was recovered by Cincinnati.
Others: T.J. Jones.
