With their play on Thursday night in the New York Giants 31-29 victory over the New England Patriots, Alonzo Russell and Kyle Lauletta should have earned a spot on the 53 man roster.
The New York Giants concluded their preseason schedule Thursday night against the New England Patriots in dramatic fashion when Kyle Lauletta threw a 14-yard touchdown to Alonzo Russell as time expired.
The score provided the Giants with the 31-29 victory.
Call it a COMEBACK ?#NYGvsNE | #GiantsPride pic.twitter.com/vUcbwQrk3h
— New York Giants (@Giants) August 30, 2019
The preseason is more about execution and getting reps in preparation for the regular season, as opposed to wins and losses, of course. But Pat Shurmur has to be pleased that his team finished the preseason undefeated.
As the case is with most preseason finales, the starters sat this one out, allowing rookies and players on the bubble one last chance to impress the coaching staff and earn a roster spot.
One player who has impressed the coaching staff and his teammates is Daniel Jones, who started the game and played one series completing all four of his passes for 47 yards.
Jones finishes the preseason completing 29 of 34 passes for 416 yards and two touchdowns.
Please write us a Jones caption, we're out of them ?
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— New York Giants (@Giants) August 30, 2019
As for the Giants first score of the game, that came on their second possession of the game when Alex Tanney’s 35-yard score to Alonzo Russell put the Giants up 7-3.
https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1167228155402211328?s=20
The Giants would again on their next offensive possession on an Aldrick Rosas 32-yard field goal to put Big Blue up 10-3.
But the Patriots would score 26 unanswered points in the second quarter thanks to two Jarrett Stidham touchdown passes to Demaryius Thomas. They would eventually take a 29-10 halftime lead.
https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/1167237254974099456?s=20
The Giants trimmed down the deficit to 29-19 in the third quarter thanks to a Rosas 27-yard field goal and a 27-yard touchdown reception by tight end Scott Simonson on a pass from Lauletta. On the play, Simonson suffered an injury to his lower left leg and was carted off the field.
https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1167256365334614016?s=20
In the fourth quarter, the Giants scored a touchdown on a Wayne Gallman six-yard run, and then the Lauletta walk-off touchdown to Russell for the game-winner.
One of the intriguing battles coming into this game concerned the third quarterback on the depth chart. On Thursday, it was clear Lauletta outplayed Tanney.
Tanney completed just 4 of 12 passes for 53 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Lauletta, on the other hand, completed 22 of 40 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns, and most importantly, showed poise on the game-winning drive.
Based on what we saw on Thursday, it seems Lauletta won the third-string job if the Giants keep three quarterbacks.
The injuries are mounting for the Giants. In addition to the Simonson injury, linebacker Nate Stupar left the game due to a concussion and receiver TJ Jones left the game due to a right-leg injury. All of these players were in a battle for a roster spot, and we’ll find out within the next 48 hours the severity of their injuries, and if they made the roster.
Alonzo Russell once again showcased his big-play capability by hauling in five passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns. He did have a few drops in the game, but his game-winning grab will diminish the disappointment from his drops. Russell has become a fan favorite this summer, and with what he did on Thursday as well as the rest of the preseason, it will be very difficult to cut him.
Another player who was on the bubble that helped his case for making the roster was B.J Goodson, who finished with a team-high six tackles to go along with a sack. Goodson has plenty of experience, but his liability in pass coverage is a concern, which makes him far from a lock to make the roster.
The Giants will have to cut their roster to 53 by 4 p.m. ET on Saturday.
