New York Giants Preseason Week 2 Report Card: Mixed Bag

The New York Giants used their second preseason game against the Houston Texans as a dress rehearsal for the regular season. The first-team offense played the entire first half, while the Texans starters played one quarter before being pulled for their backups. 

It was a great opportunity to get a look at the Giants’ revamped offensive line, the supercharged receiving corps, the explosive pass rush, the youthful defensive backfield, and, of course, quarterback Daniel Jones, who made his live-game action return since tearing his ACL last November. 

Here are our grades for the Giants’ units in the 28-10 loss.

Quarterbacks: D

Many may believe this grade should be worse, and that would be understandable because  Daniel Jones’s post-snap decision-making and ball placement were inconsistent. 

His first pass of the game, a short outside route to Malik Nabers, should have been intercepted when he hit a Texans defensive back in the chest with the ball before it fell harmlessly to the ground. 

His first pass of the Giants’ second series ended in a Texans touchdown when Jones threw a pass into the flat while in the grasp of a Texans defender backed up in the end zone. It was a panic throw that illustrated Jones’s discomfort in the pocket.

The third Giants series ended when Jones’s deep 50/50 ball to Jalin Hyatt was intercepted. 

He completed three of his first seven passes for 19 yards and two interceptions. He settled down and finished the first half against the Houston second teamers 8-11 for 119 yards. 

When Tommy Devito took over in the second half, he continued the inconsistency, completing 10 of his 19 passes for 75 yards. Neither quarterback threw a touchdown. 

Receivers: B

This receiving group needed to produce more than their three receptions for 15 yards against the Lions in Week 1 of the preseason, a performance that saw no receptions by Malik Nabers and Jalin Hyatt’s one catch for zero yards. 

In this preseason game, all four main receiving targets were in the lineup. The first three series were rough for obvious reasons. During that time, Nabers dropped a third-down pass that he attacked with one hand. 

Hyatt did not seem to fight for the ball on Jones’s deep pass that was intercepted. At the very least, in that situation he has to turn into a defensive back and keep the pass from being intercepted. 

The tide changed for the receivers in the second quarter when Darius Slayton ran by his defender and hauled in a 44-yard pass from Jones. He finished with three receptions on targets for a team-high 59 yards. 

Nabers got in the stat books with a five-yard run before the big Slayton catch. He followed it up on the next series with a three-yard catch, a 16-yard catch, and a spectacular 21-yard reception on the sideline where he skied for the pass, plucked it out the air, and tapped both toes inside the boundary. 

Wan’Dale Robinson brought in his only target on the day for 12 yards. Hyatt was the only one who did not haul in either of his two targets. The second target was a great attempt to bring it in one-handed on the sideline, but he could not keep his feet in bounds. 

Offensive Line: B

The offensive line was still not in full force as it was missing starting left guard Jon Runyan Jr. due to a shoulder issue. But all things considered, the unit held up reasonably well.

Jones playing the entire first half meant we received a quality look at the offensive line. The best thing that can be said about the line is that its members seemed to be connected and on the same page. 

They picked up a stunt and worked well in pass protection. They were not as impressive in their run blocking against the Texans’ first team, but against the second and third teams, the Giants showed they have run blocking depth and, like last week, shined. 

The pass protection from the starters was good, but they did give up some quick pressure against the Texans’ first unit and a sack to the second-team defense, which should not happen. 

Overall, it was a quality performance in the trenches against another high-quality defense with explosive edge rushers. Health is one of the biggest issues this offensive line has faced over the past few years. So the fact that we have not seen the full group together and it has still performed well is a plus for the depth they are creating. 

When everybody is a full go, the staff will have some serious questions to answer about who their starting five will be, who will back them up, and what positions they will back up. This could be the start of line stability for the next few years. 

Running Backs: C

The backs were again decent, especially against the Houston second and third-string defense. Eric Gray and Lorenzo Lingard averaged six-plus yards per rush on limited carries. 

Devin Singletary made his Giants debut but was not consistently effective against the first unit. He had one 10-yard rush during the team’s third series. His other nine rushes accounted for 10 yards and a one-yard touchdown run against the second unit. 

Two yards per carry from their starter behind the starting offensive line is not exactly what they had in mind, and it can’t all be blamed on Singletary. Still, there will be games where he only receives 10-15 total touches and needs to show better production than in his first outing as a Giant. 

Defensive Front: C-

This was the most uninspired performance on the team. The Texans ran the ball well the entire game. The three star front line guys– Kayvon Thibodeaux, Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence–accounted for two total tackles. That’s a serious lack of production against the run. 

Some of that lack of tackles came from the Texans’ success in passing the football, which is also a disappointment for the front four. The Texans dropped back 38 times, and the Giant’s defense did not record a sack. 

Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud was barely pressured during his time in the game, and the other two guys were never brought down. If this defense is built to get pressure from the front four, then this initial dress rehearsal should be concerning. 

A bright spot was undrafted rookie free agent Elijah Chatman, who has the motor and athleticism to be a factor at the 3-tech.

Linebackers: B

The linebacking corps had a good day in that they were constantly around the football. The guys you would expect to perform well definitely did. 

Micah McFadden, who had to leave the game with a hip injury, led the way with five tackles, including four solo tackles. Bobby Okereke and Darrian Beavers both recorded four tackles. 

KJ Cloyd was the surprise performer at linebacker. He recorded five tackles. The linebackers have performed well all training camp, and they were good in the first preseason game against the run. 

They still need to show a little more activity in pass coverage. This scheme is different from last season’s, and it is important for the linebackers to be active in underneath coverage to close down some of the passing windows for receivers to sit in. 

Defensive Backs: C+

The Texans completed 63% of their passes for 255 yards and a touchdown. At first glance, that would suggest that the defensive backfield played poorly. 

However, when you consider that there was little to no pass-rushing presence, which is going to be important for this young defensive secondary, it starts to make some sense.

How long defensive backs need to cover is directly connected to how much pressure the pass rush applies. The Giants’ secondary seemed to be playing a “bend but don’t break” defense. 

The Texans’ receivers took advantage of the softer coverage and could do significant damage underneath. With more effective pressure, the defensive backs will likely be more aggressive in coverage because playing this soft in coverage will definitely not result in success in the regular season.