What We Saw: Preseason Week 3

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Patriots @ Giants

Final Score: Giants 42, Patriots 10

Writer: Griffey Geiss (@ggeiss_mlb and @ggeiss_PL on Twitter)

This game, for lack of better words, was quite the one-sided affair. The Giants absolutely throttled the Patriots both offensively and defensively, and in shows the box score. Jaxson Dart looked like the future QB that Giants fans are hoping for and both of their tight ends really impressed me tonight. The Patriots sat over 30 players… what felt like their entire first team and a majority of their second team, so perhaps this was expected. Regardless, let’s dive into the results.

Three Up

QB Jaxson Dart — simply put, was composed in the pocket and led the Giants offense effectively; he looked like a QB1
TE Greg Dulcich — had I not looked at the Giants’ depth chart beforehand, I would have never believed he was their TE4; he was involved a ton and made his reps count
RB Shane Watts — the only (yes, legitimately only) Pats player that caught my eye in a positive way on offense tonight

Three Down

RB Cam Skattebo — wildly unimpressive performance, plain and simple
WR Jalin Hyatt — the inability to haul in passes remains a concern; he could very well be a roster cut candidate
WR Javon Baker — the only major skill player I highlighted for the Pats tonight… and he did absolutely nothing

Patriots

Quarterback

Ben Wooldridge: 10/20, 82 yards, TD, INT | 2 carries, 12 yards

Wooldridge was (painfully) under center for the entire game, unable to distribute the ball effectively. At one point over midway through the second quarter, he only had 4 passing yards. A major issue in camp has been his release point — passes were getting tipped at the line of scrimmage — and he ran into that same issue multiple times tonight. He turned in a 56.7 passer rating.

Missed Opportunities

multiple tipped passes early

Running Back

Shane Watts: 15 carries, 52 yards

Watts was the only player on this Patriots offense that really made an impact. He led the game in rushing yards on both sides. His longest attempt was 13 yards, though he averaged 3.5 yards per carry.

JaMycal Hasty: 11 carries, 30 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 9 yards

Hasty has primarily been the backup halfback this preseason and has turned in mediocre results. Tonight was no different. He was “ok” and that’s about it — nothing flashy, no exciting bursts (long: 7), and the team frankly wasn’t even around the red zone enough to give him a shot at powering one in for a score.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Jeremiah Webb: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 31 yards, TD

Webb caught a 10 yard touchdown pass with 9 seconds on the clock before halftime. All of his production came before the half, in fact. Webb also made two punt returns for 34 yards (long: 22). While he remains on the outside looking in on the Patriots’ depth chart, Webb did show enough to potentially make the team as a special teams option this year.

Ben Wooldridge lofts a perfect pass to Jeremiah Webb for a New England touchdown

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— NFL (@NFL) August 22, 2025

Javon Baker: 2 targets, 0 receptions

An utter disappointment. Baker was rolled out in a personnel group that had virtually zero competition, and despite that was unable to haul in a single pass. He did return a kickoff for 26 yards.

John Jiles: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 26 yards

Jiles led the team in targets and was tied with Giants’ Jalin Hyatt for the most in the game. He could only bring in three for a measly 26 yards, however, with a long of 14 yards.

Phil Lutz: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 11 yards

Similar to Webb, all of Lutz’s production came before halftime.

Giants

Quarterback

Jaxson Dart: 8/16, 81 yards, TD | 1 carry, 23 yards, 1 fumble

Dart one-thousand percent impressed me, not only tonight but throughout the entire preseason. He made quality reads, stepped up in the pocket, wasn’t quick to run away from pressure, and hit his targets in stride. I can’t recall one poorly placed throw from him tonight. The only genuine negative I took away from tonight’s game is that he didn’t slide after the 23 yard rush, resulting in him leaving the game (concussion protocol which he cleared) after getting the wind knocked out of him. It seems like head coach Brian Daboll agreed…

Brian Daboll to Jaxson Dart after that near fumble:

"Slide" pic.twitter.com/D4kgZm36UG

— The Giants Report (@GiantsReport1) August 22, 2025

Missed Opportunities

Jalin Hyatt (whom we’ll talk about later) dropped not one, but two catches
offensive holding brought back a 10+ yard catch

Jameis Winston: 4/8, 47 yards, TD, INT | 1 carry, -1 yards

Winston subbed in for Dart after he didn’t slide and got checked out in the injury tent and immediately tossed a 27 yard pass to WR Jalin Hyatt… third time’s the charm, right? He made some good, quick reads through the middle portion of his playing time, but eventually made an awful throw to the back of the endzone that was nowhere in the vicinity of the receiver, resulting in an easy pick for Kyle Dugger.

Tommy DeVito: 17/20, 198 yards, 3 TD | 1 carry, 1 yard

DeVito came in and absolutely obliterated the Patriots’ defense, turning in a 147.5 passer rating. The big play was a 41 yard touchdown pass on a checkdown to RB Jonathan Ward who got some nice blocks and evaded defenders into the endzone. If I had to exclusively use tonight to pick between DeVito and Winston for the Giants’ QB3 spot, the answer is abundantly clear.

Running Back

Cam Skattebo: 3 carries, 12 yards

Skattebo started for the Giants tonight but was awfully unimpressive. Each of his carries went for exactly four yards a piece.

Missed Opportunities

Skattebo appeared to trip at the line of scrimmage on his first carry of the game, resulting in a poor rushing attempt

Dante Miller: 11 carries, 41 yards, fumble (lost) | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 12 yards

Miller led the Giants with both 11 attempts and 41 rushing yards tonight, though he could never break off a carry for more than eight yards. He did fumble, however, which leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Jonathan Ward: 6 carries, 29 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 45 yards, TD

I walked away very impressed with Ward as the RB3. He rushed for a solid 29 yards (high: 13) and also had an excellent 41-yard touchdown on a checkdown pass from Tommy DeVito where he made a few defenders miss before taking it home.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Gunner Olszewski: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 68 yards

While known for his special teams skills, Olszewski showed off his ability to rack up yards after the catch (47 total tonight). His game-high 50 yarder came from Dart on a fantastic play moving through the pocket, and the next two receptions were from Winston.

Greg Dulcich: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 26 yards, 2 TD

I was thoroughly impressed by both tight ends, but Dulcich stole the show with his flowing hair and multiple touchdown receptions. While none of his catches were for over 10 yards, he remained a consistent threat in the pass game in every quarter. What’s even better was the chemistry between him and Dart — three of his four targets (and receptions) came from the future QB1 including this early TD grab on a crisp route…

Greg Dulcich needing to prove he’s the best TE the giants have is absurd pic.twitter.com/M5bHO0Z06j

— FF Burgundy (@FFBurgundy) August 22, 2025

Thomas Fidone II: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 39 yards, TD

Here’s the other tight end! The DeVito-Fidone connection was strong, with all but one of his targets coming from Tommy Cutlets. He caught a three yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter and barely missed a second one, this time a 28 yard effort that barely misses the endzone. All in all, impressive stuff from the former 7th round pick.

What an effort by rookie TE Thomas Fidone to get extra yards 😤

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— NFL (@NFL) August 22, 2025

Jalin Hyatt: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 38 yards, TD

Hyatt was a major underperformer, though he led the team with 6 targets. Looking at the group New York rolled out, I expected Hyatt to ball out (similar to Javon Baker). While he did actually catch a pass, or three to be exact, Hyatt dropped multiple “easy” catches before hauling in a 27 yard touchdown from Jameis Winston. His ability to consistently catch remains a concern.

Missed Opportunities