The New York Giants traded the familiarity of East Rutherford for a joint practice session against the Miami Dolphins at the Baptist Health Training Complex on Thursday.
Aside from a minor injury scare from rookie offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa, they came away unscathed and ready for their next matchup coming up.
The two teams will square off Saturday afternoon in their second preseason game. For the Giants, it will be important to start fast and put the disappointment of last week's stinker behind them. If Thursday's joint session was any indication, Preseason Game 2 could be a heck of a lot more fun to watch than whatever we had to sit through last week.
Here are the five biggest takeaways from a revealing day of work down in South Beach.
5 things that stood out from Giants’ joint practice with Dolphins
Jaxson Dart couldn't be more back if he tried
Arguably, nobody on Big Blue had a better day than Jaxson Dart. He finished the day going 16-of-22 or 17-of-21 (depending on who you ask), with an interception. Outside of that lone mistake, he looked like the quarterback Giants fans have been waiting to see all offseason.
He hasn't been able to connect on his downfield throws all summer, but he finally did on Thursday, even ripping a 50-yard bomb right into the bucket to Malachi Fields for a touchdown. And speaking of Fields...
Put Malachi Fields on the ballot for OROY
The 23-year-old wideout is making a strong case to be NY's WR2. After an impressive preseason opener, catching all three of his targets, including one for a touchdown, he continued his rapid ascent against the Dolphins, routinely beating them for big plays.
Expect Fields to light it up again (in limited reps) on Saturday in preseason game two.
Najee Harris is going to be a problem for the Giants
...in a good way -- I felt like I needed to specify that before things go off the rails. He's going to be a problem in a good way. He played so well that Brian Baldinger said, "The guy that popped more than anybody was 22. ... He was galloping out there."
Harris looking this good coming back from last year’s season-ending Achilles injury throws gasoline on a roster battle I didn’t necessarily expect to be all that heated. With Tyrone Tracy Jr. not picking up blitzes and Devin Singletary not seeing too many touches in the preseason opener, there’s a chance Harris parlays a coming-out joint practice into a strong preseason showing that ultimately gets him a roster spot.
Giants' defense has the talent to overwhelm offenses
Take this with a pinch of salt since it's the Miami Dolphins, but holy smokes, did Big Blue's defense annihilate them on Thursday. They were in the backfield constantly, blowing up running plays and relentlessly sacking quarterback Malik Willis and Co. -- Brian Burns had at least six sacks on the day.
This is the kind of performance they needed to get their confidence back. Now they have to prove Thursday wasn’t just the product of beating up on a Dolphins offense that’s had its fair share of problems.
Dominic Zvada couldn't be hotta
The Giants' kicking battle continues to move in the direction of one undrafted rookie, Dominic Zvada. The 22-year-old has been on an absolute tear, making everything from everywhere. He's made 54 of his 58 tries during training camp, with a 60-yarder and multiple 50-yarders in there.
He had another perfect day on Thursday, making all five of his attempts. He didn't get the chance to attempt one last preseason game, but look out for him to try his first live rep on Saturday. His competition, Ben Sauls, made only three of his five attempts on Thursday, putting him even further behind, although he did make a 46-yarder in the preseason opener.
Add us as a preferred source on Google