The New York Giants hosted the New England Patriots in their third and final preseason game Sunday night at MetLife Stadium.
In what was supposed to be the ‘dress rehearsal’ for the regular season, meaning many of the starters would be taking the field for the at least the first half, the Giants could not fulfill that want.
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The offensive line was missing two potential starters in right tackle Matt Peart (did not start) and left guard Shane Lemieux (injured), replaced by veterans Nate Solder and Ted Larsen respectively.
Also missing from the starting lineup were running back Saquon Barkley, wide receiver Kenny Golladay and tight end Kyle Rudolph. In their place, the Giants started Devontae Booker at running back, Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton at wide receiver and Evan Engram at tight end.
The Giants went three-and-out in their first possession with quarterback Daniel Jones getting sacked by linebacker Josh Uche, who beat left tackle Andrew Thomas.
On defense, rookie Rodarius Williams started in place of the injured Adoree’ Jackson (ankle) and Darnay Holmes started at slot corner. The defense held on third down in their own territory on the Pats’ first drive, holding them to a 41-yard field goal.
Inside linebacker Blake Martinez stripped Pats’ wideout Jacoby Meyers for an interception on the ensuing series. Jones then drove the Giants 45 yards on eight plays down to the New England one. He then threw the ball behind Engram in the end zone which was picked off by D’Angelo Ross.
After another field goal from the Patriots and a trade of punts, Jones led the Giants on a nine-play, 58-yard drive culminating in a pretty 23-yard touchdown strike to tight end Kaden Smith right before the half to give Big Blue a 7-6 lead at the half.
The second half gave way to mostly backups and New England rookie quarterback Mac Jones led the Patriots on two touchdown drives to give the Pats a 19-7 lead. The Giants struck back early in the fourth quarter to narrow the score to 19-14 when quarterback Mike Glennon hit wideout Alex Bachman on a slant for 12-yard touchdown.
After Pats backup kicker Quinn Norden missed a 54-yard field goal, Glennon hit wide receiver Damion Willis on a 43-yard Hail Mary touchdown cutover threw Dante Pettis on the two-point conversion.
The final was Patriots 22, Giants 20.
Notes
- Engram left the game with a calf injury and didn’t return. Slayton went out with a foot/ankle issue. C.J. Board had his elbow checked out by trainers but returned. Backup offensive lineman Ted Larsen walked off the field late in the game with a knee injury.
- Jones played the entire first half, completing 17 of 22 passes for 135 yards with one touchdown and one interception for a QB rating of 88.3. He looked unsettled at times but to his credit, he was under pressure more often than not.
- Thomas had a rough night, giving up multiple pressures and a sack and was also flagged for a hold. Peart was equally inept, getting beat by the Pats’ edge rushers seemly at will.
- Shepard continued to look sharp, caching five of six targets for 42 yards.
- Graham Gano uncharacteristically missed a 41-yard field goal in the third quarter.
- Dexter Lawrence. Lorenzo Carter, Trent Harris and Willy Henry were all credited with at least a half a sack.
- The Giants finished the preseason with an 0-3 record.
- The Giants will be making 27 roster decisions by 4:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, which is the NFL deadline for teams to get their rosters down to 53 players.
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