Giants-Dolphins winners and losers: Which players helped themselves, and which did not

The New York Giants had an easy time manhandling the Miami Dolphins on Saturday, winning 26-3. Let’s review the game in our traditional ‘Kudos & Wet Willies’ style.

Darius Slayton — Recovering from double sports hernia surgery, Slayton has had a quiet summer. He had a loud first half, with four catches for 58 yards. He set up the Giants’ first touchdown with a 29-yard catch-and-run on a third-and-5.

Jameis Winston — The Giants’ backup quarterback played the entire first half. He went 15 of 21 for 150 yards, ran for an 11-yard score, and led a nice two-minute drive for a field goal. Good work!

Devin Singletary — The eighth-year running back doesn’t get anywhere in a hurry. He isn’t exactly a burner. He does, though, keep on making plays and being dependable. John Harbaugh will like both of those things. Singletary made a terrific cutback on his 13-yard touchdown run, and finished with 40 yards rushing on eight carries.

The secondary — I made this a blanket ‘Kudos’ for many of the guys who played in the first half.

Greg Newsome had a pass defensed and was aggressive in run support.
Deonte Banks was excellent. He was sticky in coverage, and had two passes defensed. He also made an an excellent, aggressive run stop. That would not have happened a year ago.
Tyler Nubin missed a tackle on the opening kickoff, but was solid defensively. He had a pass defensed, continuing his tendency this summer of getting his hands on the ball more often. Early Pro Football Focus grades gave him an elite 90.4 grade.
Dru Phillips gave up a 30-yard catch (and committed pass interference on the play), but responded with run stops and forced fumbles on his next two plays.
I can’t point to a specific play, but Paulson Adebo started and also appeared to play well.

Bobby Jamison-Travis — The rookie sixth-round pick needed a game in which he made a couple of plays, and he delivered one on Saturday. He got a sack, and even showed us that there is a new No. 97 sack dance in town:

J.C. Davis — The rookie sixth-round pick went the distance at left tackle in a performance that probably solidified a spot for him on the 53-man roster. In early grades from PFF, Davis scored an 86.6, best among offensive players. Davis played 81 total snaps and allowed just one pressure.

Offensive line overall — Giants’ quarterbacks were sacked only once, and there were holes for all of the backs to run through. Well, except for poor Damon Bankston and his seven carries for 5 yards at the end of the game. Dare I say that there may actually be depth on the line. The Giants must think so, since they traded Daniel Faalele a few days ago.

Dalen Cambre — The second-year wide receiver/special teamer did not enter the game until the second half. When he got on the field, he made the most of it. Cambre made the tackle on the opening kickoff of the second half, and had three catches in three targets for 26 yards.

More importantly, all three of Cambre’s catches resulted in first downs.

On third-and-7, he caught an 8-yard pass from Brandon Allen.
On third-and-8, Cambre caught a 9-yard pass from Allen.
On yet another third-and-8, Cambre caught a 9-yard pass from Jake Haener.

Calvin Austin — Austin had a 21-yard rush, two receptions for 24 yards, and two punt returns for 29 yards. He will help the Giants in 2026.

Tyrone Tracy — Two preseason games, two major gaffes for Tracy. In Week 1 against the Minensota Vikings, he missed a blitz pickup resulting in a huge hit on quarterback Jaxson Dart. On Saturday, after runs of 11 and 12 yards, an untouched Tracy fumbled away a scoring opportunity.

Tracy probably also fumbled away playing time with Najee Harris on the roster, and Singletary looking spry. Did he fumble away a roster spot?

The miscues are unfortunate, because Tracy can be a plus in both the run and pass games. This, though, is a new coaching staff and they will go by what they are seeing with their own eyes.

Darius Alexander — The second-year defensive tackle had a quarterback hit, but his overall play left a lot to be desired. His early 33.8 PFF grade was the lowest of any Giants’ defender. Alexander has been in both preseason games in the third quarter, and it is mostly because the Giants need better run defense from the 2025 third-round pick. There is a reason why Chauncey Golston has been starting on the defensive line.

Maybe I was also influenced by the number of times Carl Banks spoke during the broadcast about Alexander needing to give the Giants more.

Odell Beckham Jr. — While fans, and even Harbaugh, are rooting for Beckham, his chance of making the season-opening 53-man roster remains murky. Yes, he can still get open. Yes, he had a 12-yard catch. Two catches for 17 yards and a dropped touchdown pass aren’t going to cut it, though. Not when the wide receiver room is as deep as it is, and other guys are making plays.

You just can’t miss chances to make impact plays when you are fighting for a roster spot.