NY Giants Get Solid Play on Offense in 34-25 Win Over Bills

The Giants cracked 30 points for the first time in the preseason under head coach Brian Daboll.

Aug 9, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson (3) on the sidelines in the third quarter game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

The New York Giants played all four of their quarterbacks in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills, the quarterbacks producing three touchdown drives and topping the 30-point mark in a 34-25 win over the Bills.

Russell Wilson got the start as was believed would be the case. Although he was the only one of the quarterbacks not to record a touchdown, his lone drive saw him move the offense 30 yards on 12 plays before kicker Graham Gano converted the first of his three field goal attempts–all from 50+ yards–to give his team a 3-0 lead.

Wilson, who finished 6-of-7 for 28 yards, was relieved by rookie Jaxson Dart, who was making his NFL debut. 

The rookie posted an impressive 12-of-19 showing for 154 yards and the first of the Giants' three touchdowns of the day, a 28-yard strike to receiver Lil’Jordan Jumprey to increase the Giants’ lead to 10-0 in the second quarter.

The Bills made it a 16-10 game at halftime thanks to Mitch Trubisky, who got the start for quarterback Josh Allen, connecting with tight end Dawson Knox on an 11-yard touchdown pass. 

The Bills also got a field goal from kicker Chris Davis to account for their first-half points, the two Buffalo scores sandwiched around back-to-back field goals of 50 and 51 yards by Gano.  

The Bills took the lead for the first time in the second half on a 39-yard touchdown pass by Mike White to K.J. Hamler to make it a 17-16 game. But the lead was short-lived, as Jameis Winston, who was up next in the Giants' quarterback rotation, found receiver Gunner Olszewski for a 7-yard touchdown and then tight end Thomas Fidone II for the 2-point conversion.

The Bills scored one more time, that coming early in the fourth quarter on a 7-yard touchdown pass from White to receiver Laviska Sheault and a successful 2-point conversion, the score giving them back the lead 25-24.

The Giants, however, scored 10 unanswered points to close out the game and seal the win, the first coming on kicker Jude McAtamney’s 42-yard field goal and then the second score coming on Tommy DeVito’s 8-yard pass to running back Jonathan Ward.

The Giants finished the game having scored 30+ points in a preseason game for the first time in the Brian Daboll era. They also appeared to escape the game without any significant injuries.

Who Didn't Play

New York Giants wide receiver Jalin Hyatt was a surprise scratch for the team's Week 1 game at Buffalo. | Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The following Giants didn't suit up for this week's game:

• Receiver Malik Nabers
• Receiver Beaux Collins
• Receiver Jalin Hyatt (medical decision)
• Receiver Darius Slayton
• Running back Eric Gray (PUP)
• Cornerback Korie Black
• Cornerback Cor’Dale Flott
• Cornerback Art Green (excused)
• Cornerback Tre Hawkins III (hamstring)
• Linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
• Running back Cam Skattebo (hamstring)
• Outside linebacker Victor Dimukeje
• Defensive lineman Chauncey Golston
• Guard Evan Neal
• Tackle Andrew Thomas (PUP)
• Defensive Tackle Dexter Lawrence II 

Banks Plays Entire First Half 

Cornerback, Deonte Banks was the only starter on defense to go the distance in the first half. | Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With the Giants somewhat thin at cornerback, the team took advantage of the situation and played projected starter Deonte Banks for the entire first half. Banks has been locked in a training camp battle with Cor’Dale Flott, who didn’t play this week, so the extra reps allowed him to seal the deal and end the competition.

Except I’m not sure he did so after delivering a mixed bag. Banks, per PFF, finished having allowed one completion on three targets for 12 yards, one yard after the catch for a 46.5 coverage rating. 

But he might have been at fault on a 58-yard completion late in the second quarter on a Mitchell Trubisky-Tyrell Shavers connection.  

Solid Showing by Offensive Line

Aug 9, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson and the rest of the Giants signal throwers got solid protection from the various offensive line combinations. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The improved quarterback play is undoubtedly a factor, but give credit to the Giants' offensive line for their performance this week. 

The first and second team units did not allow a sack in the first half and had only five pressures in the first half, three by Jake Kubas and one each by Stone Forsythe and Marcus Mbow, according to Pro Football Focus. 

The Giants finished having allowed ten pressures in 54 total drop-backs (some of which may have been on the quarterbacks). The big takeaway? Zero sacks allowed.

Mike Kafka Moved to the Sideline

Mike Kafka of the New York Giants called plays in the team's preseason opener from the sidelines after spending the first three seasons in the press box. | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, who will be calling the plays this coming season, moved down to the sideline for that role. 

Kafka had previously been in the press box as a play caller and last year, when assisting head coach Brian Daboll with the offense. It’s unclear, though, if he’ll be staying on the sidelines this year or if this is just an experiment for the preseason.

What Needs to Be Cleaned Up

Detailed view of a yellow penalty flag | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

A win is always a good thing, even if it's in preseason and doesn’t count in the final record. But the Giants still have a few areas they need to clean up.

The first is missed tackles. Unofficially, the Giants had 12 missed tackles in this game to the Bills’ nine, per PFF. That could be attributed to the fact that Daboll doesn’t want the players tackling each other to the ground, which is yet another reason why it was nice to see him play the starters and key reserves.

The other area was the pre-snap penalties. Of the Giants’ ten penalties this week, four fell into the pre-snap category: two false starts (offensive tackle James Hudson III and tight end Thomas Fidone II), one illegal formation (tight end Jermaine Terry), and one delay of game.   

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