The New York Giants will play their second preseason game on ‘Monday Night Football’ against the Cleveland Browns.
- New York Giants (0-1)
- Cleveland Browns (1-0)
- NFL, Preseason Week 2, Aug. 21, ESPN
- FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
The starters will play at least into the second quarter if not the entire first half. Therefore, there will be several key things to watch for in tonight’s game.
Here are five things to watch for in tonight’s preseason game:
1. The offensive line
Ten days ago against the Steelers, the offensive line struggled to get a push off the line of scrimmage and in protecting Giants quarterbacks. With over a week to practice and prepare for tonight’s game, it will be interesting to see how the line responds.
2. The tight ends
The Giants are very deep and talented at the tight end position, and they’ve all had a solid training camp. With rookie Evan Engram and Rhett Ellison locks to make the team, the rest of the tight ends (Will Tye, Jerell Adams and Matt LaCosse) need to be impressive to help their chances of making the roster.
3. How will Eli Manning look?
Eli Manning will see his first action of the preseason tonight and though he’s been sharp in practice, it will be interesting to see how sharp and effective he is tonight, and if he’s able to get his new weapons in Brandon Marshall and Evan Engram involved.
4. What will the defense do for an encore?
Against the Steelers, the defense looked like they were in mid-season form, forcing two 3-and-outs and two interceptions on the Steelers first four possessions. One thing they would like to see tonight is to get pressure on the quarterbacks from the edge from both Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon.
5. The backup quarterbacks
Josh Johnson and Geno Smith have been splitting reps with the second team offense throughout training camp, and the competition to be Manning’s backup is just about even.
Last week against the Steelers, Johnson completed 5-of-10 passes for 31 yards while Smith completed 10-of-16 passes for 114 yards and an interception. With just three weeks away until the start of the regular season, whoever performs better tonight stands a great chance of winning the backup quarterback job.