A closer look at the Giants’ preseason loss to the Vikings changes a few first impressions, and not always in the way you’d expect.
That was the whole point of going back through the All-22 after the New York Giants-Minnesota Vikings game: some players look better, some look worse, and a few barely register at all. In a preseason game with snaps split up and plenty of uneven play, the tape can sharpen the picture fast.
Micah McFadden is a good example. He’s a linebacker who has long looked active and involved, but the review turned up three first-half moments where he was in the neighborhood of a play and couldn’t finish it, including Minnesota’s 18-yard run on the opening snap. That kind of thing stood out again on tape.
Josh Tupou, meanwhile, was one of the players whose performance looked better after the replay than it did in real time. The initial reaction was to be hard on him, but the film backed up his nearly elite 89.5 Pro Football Focus grade. He was sturdy at the point of attack, with only one play jumping out as a clear loss when he got turned sideways.
There were also a few smaller moments that matter in a preseason setting. Nic Jones did himself no favors in the roster race when Deonte Banks drove him back roughly 10 yards while blocking on a kickoff return. Sisi Mauigoa, on the other hand, had the kind of game coaches usually love: he was hardly noticeable.
Jaxson Dart’s stat line also had a couple of plays that looked strange until the tape gave them some context. One incomplete bubble screen was especially awkward at first glance, but the problem started with a poor shotgun snap from Bryan Hudson that forced Dart into an odd spin before the throw.
On another play, Dart tucked the ball and was sacked, though there was still a case to be made that he could have gotten it to Isaiah Likely on time. That throw, if made quickly, might have turned into a first down even if Likely had to absorb a hit.
Cam Skattebo looked like himself, which is to say physical and downhill. John Harbaugh said after the game that Skattebo was getting closer to the player he saw on film last year, and the tape showed the running back playing with his usual aggression.
There was also a useful clue in the way the Giants lined up defensively. If anyone is wondering how Kayvon Thibodeaux and Chauncey Golston might both get snaps, Saturday offered a hint: the Giants used a lot of four-man fronts, with Golston working as a defensive end.
Darius Alexander’s sack came on a play that was easy to miss live. The defensive tackle dropped into coverage before coming back up to the line once Minnesota quarterback J.J. McCarthy started to scramble around.
The second half brought a much rougher look at Brandon Allen. On tape, he matched the live impression: bad.
He never saw the linebacker on his first interception, and he had no business throwing the ball on the second one. The Giants signed veteran quarterback Jake Haener for a reason.
After that interception, Leki Fotu put together a nice back-to-back sequence. He was a big part of shutting down a run through the middle, then read a screen, got down to the receiver, and knocked the ball away with his left hand.
There was also a sack of Allen in the third quarter where both Daniel Faalele and J.C. Davis were beaten.
Faalele, in particular, did not look good. Evan Neal, by comparison, looked OK.
That was the bulk of what stood out from the tape. The fourth quarter didn’t get much attention, but the review still painted a clearer picture of how the game unfolded than the initial look.
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