Pro Football Focus grades from the Giants’ 26-3 victory over the Dolphins

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - AUGUST 22: New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (3) runs after a catch during the preseason NFL game between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins on Saturday, August 22, 2026 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, FL (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

It’s hard to draw conclusions from a game played on a rainy day against a rebuilding team that didn’t even play most of the small number of accomplished starting players they have on their roster. You don’t need Pro Football Focus grades to tell you that the Giants dominated their opponent, the nouveau Miami Dolphins. Also, it’s preseason, so finely parsing individual grades is not of much use. Let’s instead try to get some general impressions, from the grades of course, but also from the playing time. We’ll just look at offense and defense and skip the detailed analysis of position groups.

Offense

Here are all the offensive players who scored at least 60, PFF’s threshold for adequate play:

If I’m J.C. Davis today, nursing my aches and pains from playing 81 snaps at left tackle against Miami…yes, 81…I don’t know if I’m wondering what I did wrong during practice to get punished like this, or I’m thinking that maybe John Harbaugh is intrigued by my play and wanted to see as large a sample as possible, with cutdowns to the final 53 only a week away. I’m guessing the latter. Davis had an outstanding game, grading 89.3 overall with almost identically high pass blocking and run blocking scores. That’s a bit different from last week, when Davis also had an excellent 84.6 pass blocking grade against a tough Vikings defense but an abysmal 41.7 run blocking grade.

Elsewhere on the offensive line, Aaron Stinnie, Evan Neal, Joshua Ezeudu, Lucas Patrick, and Marcus Mbow all graded in the 70s. Furthermore, all graded above average in pass blocking except Neal, who graded average. What surprised me about that was this play:

Ya pic.twitter.com/Zc5YJ0CG7N

— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) August 22, 2026

PFF gave Neal responsibility for a sack allowed, and rightly so, because even on the inside, he shows that he doesn’t have the agility to maintain his position against pass rushers. PFF, however, gave Ezeudu no responsibility at all. To me the two should have each gotten half a sack. Ezeudu, playing at right tackle, seemingly consciously passes off his pass rusher to…whom, exactly?

Among the skill players, wide receiver Dalen Cambre graded above 70 for the second week in a row, catching all three balls that came his way after catching the only pass thrown to him last week. Cambre likely won’t survive cuts next week given the crowd at WR, although he has played a little on special teams this summer as well, so he might make the roster there or be a practice squad candidate.

Among other wide receivers, Darius Slayton had a much needed good game (4 catches in 6 targets for 58 yards), whether to solidify his place on the roster or his place as a trade chip for a 2027 draft pick. Regarding the latter, Calvin Austin, another competitor for a wide receiver roster spot, graded 61.4 with 2 catches in 2 targets for 24 yards. Darnell Mooney, another wide receiver on the roster bubble at this point, missed the game because Harbaugh excused him to be best man at his brother’s wedding.

Not showing up above 60 is Odell Beckham Jr. (58.4), who caught two of the four balls that came his way for 17 yards. One of those was a nice play were he worked after the catch to elude tacklers and gain extra yardage in close quarters. Like last week, OBJ also had a play where he put a move on a DB and broke free downfield but was not thrown to. What everyone will remember, though, is the ball he let go through his hands in the end zone, a play that should have been a touchdown. PFF gave him a 29.9 drop grade because of that.

Among the running backs, Eric Gray, who did some good things late in the game when no one was paying attention anymore, led with a 70.4 grade. Devin Singletary, who had a nice game and seems to be solidifying a spot on the roster, had a 64.7 grade. Tyrone Tracy, though, graded an ugly 40.9 because of his unforced fumble.

Defense

Here are all players who scored at least 60 on defense in the game:

This is where PFF grades can understandably be frustrating to a lot of you. Dru Phillips led all Giants defenders with an outrageously good 96.3 grade. I’m sure that many of you can think only of the 30-yard reception that he surrendered, when he was in position to break up the pass but never looked back and let the receiver catch the ball despite putting a hand up:

Cam Miller launches it to Kevin Coleman Jr.! NYGvsMIA on @nflnetwork Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/vUaXaumlY7

— NFL (@NFL) August 22, 2026

However, on two of the other of his total six plays yesterday, he forced fumbles that the Giants recovered. Here’s one of them:

I love how Dru Phillips responded to the slot-fade he surrendered. Phillips with back-to-back impact plays to shut down the Dolphins offense. Phillips' physical nature is one thing that can't be denied. pic.twitter.com/cgUPWZmk9E

— Nick Falato (@nickfalato) August 22, 2026

Dennard Wilson will have to find ways to put Phillips in position to maximize his skills near the line of scrimmage while limiting his obvious vulnerability as a pass defender downfield.

Returning to the overall defense grades, take a good look, BBVers. It may be a long time before you ever see the top six defense grades all going to defensive backs again. Tyler Nubin (90.3) had his second consecutive outstanding pre-season game. Maybe we’ll even see an interception from him this year? Likewise, Deonte Banks, after a bad game in coverage vs. Minnesota, bounced back with an excellent 85.3 defense grade vs. Miami. Finally, Greg Newsome II, in his first action as a Giant, had a very good 79.9 score. Beau Brade (79.0) and Nic Jones (75.5) also had a very good game...

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →