Preseason is here, and football is officially back on the calendar. The New York Giants are kicking things off Saturday in Buffalo, and while the game won’t mean a thing in the standings, it still matters in so many more ways.
The Josh Allen news came in definitively. He’s not playing. Bills head coach Sean McDermott made that clear when speaking to the media. But the majority of Buffalo’s starters are still expected to get about a quarter of work, which means the game isn’t a total wash. This is still a chance for the G-Men to go toe-to-toe with a legitimate Super Bowl contender, even if their MVP quarterback is standing on the sideline on cheerleading duties.
And for a "let's put last season's nightmare behind us" team like the Giants, that’s exactly what you want to see in early August. Dabs hasn't committed to who's playing yet, but we should know more after Thursday's practice.
Giants have more on the line than it looks in preseason opener
McDermott confirmed Buffalo’s first-team units will open the game, which gives the Giants a live-action look at a playoff-level roster. This isn’t a full-speed dress rehearsal, but it’s not nothing either.
The defense will still face a unit with real speed, physicality, and experience, and how guys like Deonte Banks, Cor’Dale Flott, and Darius Alexander handle that could matter more than anything that's happened the past couple of weeks of training camp.
This also sets up a decent measuring stick for the ever-in-flux offensive line rotation, especially on the inside, where battles are still ongoing. Evan Neal continues to work at guard, Greg Van Roten is still the projected starter, and Jake Kubas is still an interesting option. Even Marcus Mbow could get more preseason run than expected due to injuries.
These next three weeks are about sorting that group out, and Saturday's tape might just be the first real indication of what the coaching.
And yes, Jaxson Dart will play. That alone makes this game worth watching. His live reps have been limited to camp so far, and while the plan is still for him to sit and develop, fans are going to get a much better feel for where he’s at once he’s taking snaps in an actual game setting. It's unknown which unit he'll run, but the buzz has been building, and this will be the first real chance for him to back it up for the football world to see.
The Giants are still trying to figure out their identity for 2025, and they’ll use every in-game rep they can get along the way. This game won’t tell the full story, but it could give them a pretty good early read on how close they are to being the kind of team they think they can be.