What We Saw: Preseason Week 2

Breakdowns of every game from Week 2 of the 2025 NFL preseason!

Brett Ford
What We Saw 2 Days Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Titans @ Falcons
Chiefs @ Seahawks
Dolphins @ Lions
Packers @ Colts
Patriots @ Vikings
Browns @ Eagles
Panthers @ Texans
49ers @ Raiders
Chargers @ Rams
Jets @ Giants
Ravens @ Cowboys
Buccaneers @ Steelers
Cardinals @ Broncos
Saints @ Jaguars
Bills @ Bears
Bengals @ Commanders

Jets @ Giants

Final Score: Giants 31, Jets 12

Writer: Brett Ford (@FadeThatMan)

 

Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart stole the show in the Meadowlands as he led the Giants on a pair of touchdown drives, including a rushing score. Meanwhile, a shoddy performance from the whole first-team offense left the Jets with more questions than answers entering the final preseason game of the year.

Russell Wilson opened the game with a 93-yard touchdown drive to put the Giants ahead, 7-0, but couldn’t generate any more first-half offense as the Jets cut the lead to 7-6 at the break. Dart took over in the second half, leading his team to consecutive touchdowns to open the second half. The Jets stumbled across the finish line with Brady Cook throwing a late touchdown pass, but Jameis Winston iced the game with another touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, sealing the win for Big Blue. Let’s dig in.

 

Three Up

  • Jaxson Dart – Dart was outstanding in his home debut and gave fans a preview of what could be a long career in the Big Apple
  • Braelon Allen – A TRUE TIMESHARE, Breece Hall and Allen split carries on the first drive of the game, and Allen outgained Hall on the ground
  • Giants Fans – Even with the most difficult schedule in the NFL, the fans in the Meadowlands possess something they haven’t had in a few seasons: hope

Three Down

  • Justin Fields – 1-for-5 for four yards and only three points to show for it on three offensive drives
  • Jets Defense – The Jets were without Sauce Gardner, but still got cooked in the secondary, allowing 398 passing yards
  • Breece Hall – The other end of what looks like a true timeshare – his draft price doesn’t match his current workload

 

New York Jets

 

Quarterback

 

Justin Fields: 1/5, 4 Yards | 1 Carry, 5 Yards

Oh man. Fields was not great. The Jets are going to run the ball a lot this year if this is what they have to deal with at quarterback. He missed on a couple of easy throws, forced the ball into a couple of tight windows, and overall was ineffective. Not a great way to inspire confidence heading into the final preseason game of the year.

 

Adrian Martinez: 12/21, 114 Yards, INT 

The bar was set extremely low, but Martinez looked more accurate and decisive than Fields did in this one. He found receivers on time and in tight windows, and put some solid tape on film for the second-straight week. His interception came on an extended play where he escaped the pocket and tried to force a completion on a third-and-medium. He was picked off by a safety streaking back to the play.

 

Brady Cook: 6/11, 74 Yards, TD

Cook looked okay, but not as good as his QBR would indicate. He made some throws but wasn’t perfect. His touchdown pass to Skinner was just off the mark and took a one-handed snatch by the receiver to pull in. Even this long completion is slightly off the mark. He does well to anticipate and find a nice pocket in the zone, but the receiver makes a good adjustment to pull in the catch. He’s a work in progress, but a good practice squad arm for the Jets to potentially develop.

 

Running Back

 

Breece Hall: 7 Carries, 26 Yards | 1 Target

Braelon Allen: 7 Carries, 34 Yards

The drumbeat for Allen continues to crescendo, but Hall was still out there for nearly 60% of offensive snaps with the first team. He also earned the Jets’ only running back target of the entire game. Allen outperformed Hall in this one, even if Hall earned more first-team touches. It feels so much more like a committee than it has in any of Hall’s previous seasons that it’s hard to pay the current draft price. Meanwhile, Allen continues to be a sneaky good mid-round pick. This feels like a Pollard-Spears situation with fewer injury scares.

 

Kene Nwangwu: 6 Carries, 31 Yards

With Isaiah Davis out, Nwangwu was the third running back in the Jets’ backfield, rushing for just over 5.0 yards per carry. He was fine out of the backfield, but even better on special teams, where he had a solid 38-yard kick return and then saved a punt from going into the end zone with an athletic hustle play.

 

Lawrence Toafili: 4 Carries, 24 Yards

Donovan Edwards: 8 Carries, 21 Yards

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Garrett Wilson: 3 Targets

Wilson was on the field. That’s about as much as we can say in this one. It would be nice to see some cohesion between him and Fields, but we have yet to see it come to fruition.

 

Quentin Skinner: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 48 Yards, TD

Skinner pulled in all four of his targets for receptions, including a diving, one-handed touchdown grab. He was wide open, and it should have been an easier catch, but he made it nonetheless. His big frame (6’5″) and long wingspan make him an intriguing player for the Jets to consider as a depth piece.

 

Arian Smith: 6 Targets, 2 Receptions, 39 Yards

Smith only had two catches on six targets, but it wasn’t all his fault. He was airmailed on a couple of good routes. The thing that you see when you watch Smith is that the guy can MOVE. He’s fast AND quick, and has been picking up momentum in Jets camp so far this preseason. He’ll be a name to watch moving forward.

 

Brandon Smith: 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 48 Yards

Ontaria Wilson: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 1 Yard, TD

Stone Smartt: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 1 Yard, TD

Jamaal Pritchett: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 1 Yard, TD

Mason Taylor: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards

We saw Taylor get the first reception of the game, which was nice. But the real encouraging thing was seeing him hold his own as a blocker while the Jets went very run-heavy in their first few drives.

 

New York Giants

 

Quarterback

 

Russell Wilson: 6/11, 108 Yards, 0 TD, 1 INT | 1 Carry

Wilson was just fine in this one, playing a pretty good first few drives for the Giants. He got decent protection from his offensive line relatively consistently, and his only mistake came on a miscommunication – which we can likely blame on an inexperienced rookie. Overall, Russ was what he was signed to be, consistent enough to get the job done. The problem is he’s got a shiny new toy right behind him on the depth chart.

 

Jaxson Dart: 14/16, 137 Yards, 1 TD, 0 INT | 1 Carry, 3 Yards, 1 TD

The shiny new toy I was talking about – it’s this kid. For the second-straight week, Dart put together a really nice performance, completing nearly all of his passes, including 13 completions in a row at one point. Daboll was clearly in his bag, calling a lot of quick-hitter looks to make sure that Dart was presented with clear first-reads and relatively easy decisions. Daboll surprised everyone – including Dart – by throwing him out into the fray in the middle of a drive started by Wilson. Dart came in, delivered the play call, and completed a tight end screen to Theo Johnson that turned into a 30-yard gain. Dart found Greg Dulcich for a passing score and looked extremely effective on his QB sneak for a score. He nearly broke NFL Twitter with what would have been a 50-yard touchdown scamper but was caught by his shoelaces at the line of scrimmage. Not bad, Rook.

 

Jameis Winston: 6/11, 110 Yards, 0 TD, 0 INT | 1 Carry, 1 Yard, 1 TD

Trash-time Jameis came in and did his thing. He was kept pretty clean in the pocket, taking just one sack on a rollout, and ended up rushing for a fourth-quarter touchdown. He’s the glue guy, not the go-to guy. And that’s a role that comes naturally to him at this point in his career.

 

Tommy DeVito: 3/4, 52 Yards, 0 TD, 1 INT | 1 Carry, 2 Yards

He’ll be the most popular guy on the practice squad.

 

Running Back

 

Tyrone Tracy Jr.: 7 Carries, 39 Yards, 0 TD | 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 6 Yards

Tracy dominated the first-team rushing snaps, out-touching Devin Singletary, 8-3, and looking pretty good doing it. He appears to be the clear RB1 in New York and could prove to be a value at his current ADP.

 

Devin Singletary: 2 Carries, 5 Yards, 1 TD | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 1 Yard

He vultured Tracy’s touchdown with a score from the one-yard line, but that was the only way in which he outperformed the younger back over the weekend. He appears to be a clear spell back, while Tracy has ascended to the top spot in the depth chart.

 

Jonathan Ward: 4 Carries, 13 Yards, 0 TD | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 0 Yards

Dante Miller: 5 Carries, 17 Yards, 0 TD | 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 43 Yards

Of the two depth backs, Miller showed more on both the offense and special teams. Next to Dart in the backfield, Miller caught all four of his targets and looked comfortable as a passing-down back. He also made a play to down a punt inside the 10-yard line for the Giants, proving his worth on special teams as well.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Malik Nabers: DNP

Nabers is starting to prove worrisome this draft season. He’s missed most of the Giants’ preseason practices with what was first reported as a toe injury and is now being called a back problem. I’m worried enough to stay away from Nabers at the end of the first round.

 

Wan’Dale Robinson: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 6 Yards

Beaux Collins: 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 80 Yards

Dalen Cambre: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 45 Yards

Jordan Bly: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 41 Yards

Zach Pascal: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 27 Yards

Jalin Hyatt: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 21 Yards

Lil’ Jordan Humphrey: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 20 Yards

Montrell Washington: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 19 Yards

Gunner Olszewski: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 17 Yards

Juice Wells Jr.: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 13 Yards

Holy cow, there were a lot of different pass-catchers for the Giants on Saturday. A total of 17 players each caught at least one pass for Big Blue, and nobody pulled down more than four receptions. Of the wide receivers, undrafted rookie Beaux Collins obviously stood out because of his 80-yard reception, but it was his only catch of the day. He had a miscommunication later in the game where he broke inside and Wilson throw wide, resulting in an uncontested interception for the Jets. Collins is getting first-team reps, though, and could be a name we see as a WR4 (behind Nabers, Robinson, and Slayton) on the Week 1 roster.

Theo Johnson: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 30 Yards

Jermaine Terry II: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 21 Yards

Greg Dulcich: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 20 Yards, 1 TD

Thomas Fidone II: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 3 Yards

Johnson earned first-team reps and made a nice play to gain a bunch of YAC on a TE screen play – Dart’s first throw of the game. Dulcich came in as the TE2 and scored a touchdown on a well-designed fake pitch tight end seam.

Series Navigation
Introduction
Titans @ Falcons
Chiefs @ Seahawks
Dolphins @ Lions
Packers @ Colts
Patriots @ Vikings
Browns @ Eagles
Panthers @ Texans
49ers @ Raiders
Chargers @ Rams
Jets @ Giants
Ravens @ Cowboys
Buccaneers @ Steelers
Cardinals @ Broncos
Saints @ Jaguars
Bills @ Bears
Bengals @ Commanders