The New York Giants faced off against the defending AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals at MetLife Stadium on Sunday night in the only home game on this year’s preseason schedule.
It was the MetLife debut for head coach Brian Daboll and many Giants players, including this year’s two first-round picks, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Evan Neal.
Ladies & Gentlemen…
Kayvon Thibodeaux & Evan Neal 🤩 pic.twitter.com/9vPAJpJHsP
— New York Giants (@Giants) August 21, 2022
The Giants played the game with a glut of injuries along their offensive line. By the middle of the third quarter, reserve tackle Will Holden was playing center.
Left tackle Andrew Thomas, right guard Mark Glowinski and Neal, the right tackle, all started. Max Garcia got the start at center and Devery Hamilton started at left guard.
Daniel Jones started the game at quarterback. Antonio Williams opened the game at running back.
On defense, the Giants opened the game with their starters, including Thibodeaux at outside linebacker and Blake Martinez at middle linebacker.
Martinez did not play in last week’s preseason opener against New England. It was Martinez’ first game action since tearing his ACL in Week 3 last season.
Cincinnati did not play their starters.
Final score: Giants 25, Bengals 22
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final | |
| Bengals | 3 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 22 |
| Giants | 0 | 7 | 0 | 18 | 25 |
Keys to the game
- The Giants outgained the Bengals, 423-272
- The Giants’ three quarterbacks combined for 357 yards passing, completing 43 of 54 attempts (80 percent).
- The Giants’ defense held Cincinnati on third downs, allowing gather to convert on just 31 percent of their attempts.
- The Giants’ defense did not allow a play over 18 yards on the night and only seven went for over 10 yards.
It was over when...
Quarterback Davis Webb hit wide receiver Alex Bachman on a 15-yard touchdown strike with 0:35 left on the clock in the fourth quarter. The play put the Giants in the lead for good, 25-22.
It was Bachman’s second touchdown grab of the night.
B2B FOR BACHMAN!
📺: @NBCNewYork/@NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/MsfrTNsrHV
— New York Giants (@Giants) August 22, 2022
Players of the game
- Quarterback Daniel Jones, who completed 14 of 16 passes for 116 yards and one interception (off a drop).
- Wide receiver Alex Bachman (11 receptions on 14 targets for 122 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner). Bachman also made a key special teams tackle.
- Quarterback Davis Webb went 22 of 27 for 204 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran in a two-point conversion.
- Punter Jamie Gillan who had double duty after kicker Graham Gano got hurt. He kicked a field goal and a PAT and two of his three kickoffs went for touchbacks.
Injuries
Linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux (knee) went down in pain in the second quarter after being cut-blocked by Bengals tight end Thaddeus Moss. The cart came out but he walked off the field under his own power and did not return. Early reports were that he dodged a serious injury.
Wide receiver C..J. Board (ribs) left the game in the second quarter and was ruled out.
Kicker Graham Gano was evaluated for a concussion before halftime and was ruled out for the rest of the night. He was injured trying to make a tackle on the blown kickoff coverage on Chris Evans’ 73-yard return in the second quarter. Punter Jamie Gillan handled the kicking duties for the remainder of the game.
Rookie linebacker Darrian Beavers injured his left knee early in the second half. He walked slowly to the locker room after being evaluated in the blue tent and was subsequently ruled out.
What's next?
Giants head coach Brian Daboll will conduct a Zoom conference with reporters on Monday afternoon followed by a series of players. The team will have Tuesday off before returning to practice on Wednesday morning.
Big Blue will then visit the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in Week 3 of the preseason on Sunday, August 28 (1:00 p.m. ET).
