The Giants were also without Devin Singletary, and they'd already lost Calvin Austin III to a season-ending injury earlier in the week, pushing depth names like Malachi Fields and Darnell Mooney into bigger roles. The Jets, meanwhile, saw both Chip Trayanum and Anez Cooper ruled out before the final whistle — the kind of attrition that piles up when bubble players are auditioning for a job instead of protecting a lead. New York's home team still went in as the shorter number.
That price didn't hold up. New York's offense never found any rhythm behind a patchwork skill group, and the Giants' backups made the stops that mattered, turning what was supposed to be a coin flip into a rout.
Both teams' recent stretches look nothing alike depending which slice you view. The Giants close the preseason with a defense that no longer looks overwhelmed and a group of backups who keep making plays — exactly what you want heading into final cuts. The Jets are still hunting for continuity behind Smith, and a finale that cost them two more bodies to injury does nothing to quiet the questions about depth up front.
None of this changes anyone's playoff outlook — it's preseason, and Friday's tape gets shredded the moment rosters are finalized. But for a Giants team that keeps finding backups who can win football games, and a Jets team piling up bodies on the wrong side of the injury report right before Week 1, the final score reads a little truer than either front office would like.
Both rosters get trimmed to 53 within days, and this box score will matter more to a handful of position battles than it ever will to either team's win column.