The New York Giants closed out their preseason with a last-second victory over the New England Patriots — a victory that even led Tom Brady to seek out and congratulate backup quarterback Kyle Lauletta.
While Lauletta has received well-deserved praise for the comeback win, there were several other players whose contributions deserved a tip of the cap as well. And thanks to Pro Football Focus, they got exactly that.
After their review of the game, PFF gave defensive lineman R.J. McIntosh and defensive back Ronald Zamort the team’s highest grades.
For players who had a minimum of 25 snaps, running back Wayne Gallman and offensive lineman Chad Slade led the way.
Pro Football Focus also offered a ReFocused take on the game where they primarily examined the team’s three backup quarterbacks.
Kyle Lauletta was the last of the three active Giants quarterbacks to play tonight (Eli Manning was not active), and he led the Giants back down the stretch, continuing a strong showing this preseason in hopes of making the 53 man roster.
Daniel Jones didn’t see the field much, but yet again he looked the part of a quarterback who is ready to start in the NFL. and his downfield accuracy continues to be a strength.
Alex Tanney’s touchdown bomb to Alonzo Russell was an absolute beauty, but he also threw multiple turnover-worthy passes with poor accuracy and misreading coverages.
PFF concluded with a tidbit on rookie defensive back Julian Love, who received a boatload of snaps against top-end NFL receivers.
Julian Love had some struggles in coverage tonight, as he gave up multiple catches and struggled to close effectively on his man. Rookies at his position are often slow to translate, and he may not be ready to contribute much on defense just yet.
While Love had a tough day against the Patriots, he did get some solid experience against the type of competition he can expect during the regular season. How that translates remains to be seen, but the growing pains were obvious.
