The New York Giants delivered a near-perfect performance on Saturday afternoon in Miami, dismantling the Dolphins by a final score of 26-3 in a thoroughly one-sided affair that left little doubt about which team was superior.
From the opening drive, New York controlled the line of scrimmage, stifled Miami’s attack at every turn, and methodically built a lead that felt insurmountable well before the final whistle. The Giants’ defense harassed the Dolphins into repeated mistakes while the offense remained efficient and largely mistake-free.
Special teams contributed cleanly as well, rounding out a complete and impressive team effort under the South Florida sun.
Here are a few things we learned from the dominant win.
Cutdown day will be a difficult one
Mostly everyone played well on Saturday, making the end-of-roster decisions tougher. The Giants have one more preseason game, next Friday night against the New York Jets, to sort things out. They still have no clarity at kicker, and the cornerback battle got murkier with Deonte Banks’ resurgence. They are long at several positions and, like the Daniel Faalele trade last week, could be seeking to make some pre-cutdown deals.
Dennard Wilson and Chris Horton… whoa
John Harbaugh has been successful because of his penchant for hard work and structure. He looks for that in his key assistants as well. Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson and Chris Horton, the special teams coordinator, have come in and straightened out two of the most dysfunctional units in the NFL in just a few months. New personnel has helped, but the structure, vision, and attention to detail by both have the Giants looking more like a team than they have in a decade.
Jameis never ceases to amaze
You never know what you’re going to get with Jameis Winston, but the Giants seem to be getting a lot more good Jameis than bad. He looked like a former Heisman Trophy winner and first overall pick on Saturday, leading Big Blue to a 20-3 halftime lead. He even ran for a score, diving over the front left pylon like Lamar Jackson. The Giants are in good hands with him as their primary backup.
Singletary motoring along
Najee Harris didn’t play on Saturday, and neither did Cam Skattebo. That left the rushing load to be handled by Tyrone Tracy Jr., Devin Singletary, and Eric Gray. Tracy and Gray had decent games rushing and receiving, with Tracy losing a key fumble in the red zone. It was Singletary, though, who stood out. He rushed eight times for 40 yards, a 5.0 average, and had a 13-yard touchdown run. He always seems to inject life into the offense whenever he enters the game.
The sixth-rounders are killing it
The Giants had three picks in the sixth round of this year’s NFL draft. They used them on different styles of players. Illinois offensive tackle J.C Davis, defensive lineman Bobby Jamison-Travis of Auburn, and BYU linebacker Jack Kelly. On Saturday, Davis played all 81 offensive snaps and six on special teams; BJT started at nose tackle and had a sack. Kelly played 56 percent of the defensive snaps and 42 percent on special teams. It’s hard to see the Giants cutting any one of these three. Get used to them.
Dru Phillips making his case
Wilson’s defense may or may not have a steady role for Dru Phillips, who was the Giants’ starting slot corner under the previous staff. He did not start as the Giants opened the game with three down linemen, four linebackers, two cornerbacks, and two safeties. Phillips played just six snaps in the game but made three solo tackles and forced two fumbles. He also had a pass interference penalty, but in all fairness it could have gone either way.
Calvin Austin III is the Giants’ jackknife
Braxton Berrios and Darnell Mooney were inactive, leaving some scrimmage and special teams reps open. Enter Austin, a jack-of-all-trades to the rescue. On offense, he had two receptions for a total of 24 yards and added a 21-yard gain on a reverse. On special teams, Austin averaged 14.5 yards on two punt returns. He’s the type of player who can help the Giants win some games this year.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: What we learned from New York Giants’ 26-3 win over Miami Dolphins
Reporting by John Fennelly, Giants Wire / Giants Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By John Fennelly, Giants Wire | USA TODAY Network
