New York Giants: Winners and losers from Preseason Week 1 vs. Jets
Losers
Eli Manning, QB
As impressive as Jones was, Eli Manning was equally uninspiring. For a player that has a top-10 rookie breathing down his neck and that has performed poorly in recent years, you would expect to see a little bit of fire in the veteran. There wasn’t even a spark.
In Manning’s one drive for the night, he led the Giants to a three-and-out while going 1-of-1 for three yards. If that wasn’t unimpressive enough, his one completion was actually a checkdown where he completely missed a potential big play down the field — either that or just chose not to throw it, for whatever reason. If Jones and Manning keep playing as they did in Week 1 of the preseason, there’s a quarterback competition on our hands.
Julian Love, CB
There’s no question that Julian Love was a standout performer for the Notre Dame defense in college. He did not look to be translating quickly to the NFL on Thursday night, though. The cornerback seemed lost on several occasions, including one that led to the Jets’ opening-drive touchdown. Furthermore, the fact that he’s an average athlete was put on display as he struggled to keep up with Jets pass-catchers in the open field, even after the starters weren’t in the game.
Paul Perkins, RB
With Saquon Barkley not seeing the field, none of the Giants running backs did anything of consequence on the night. However, Paul Perkins held the dubious distinction of being the worst performer of that group.
Not only did Perkins take his four carries for just nine yards on the night but he also put the pigskin on the turf on one of his two receptions on the night. When you take that type of minimal production and a big mistake combined with spotty — at best — pass protection, it was a bad night at the office for Perkins.
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Jabrill Peppers, S
Among the other three players listed among the losers, Jabrill Peppers really didn’t have that bad of a game against the Jets. However, as part of the Odell Beckham Jr. trade coming back to the Giants, Big Blue’s fans want the safety to continue developing into a stud at safety. Letting an interception go through his mitts while also being involved in a couple of miscues is not a good start for Peppers in that regard.