Here are the top takeaways from Saturday’s Jaguars-Giants game, including the highest-graded players for each team:
Jacksonville Jaguars
–QB Blake Bortles still needs polishing. After impressing a week ago in limited action, Bortles struggled with his accuracy under pressure and with the deep ball. At -2.6 on 30 snaps, his worst play was a sack-fumble where he attempted to gain an extra yard instead of sliding on the first drive of the game.
–Outside of his 36-yard reception where he separated from Giants CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie across the middle, WR Allen Robinson had a night to forget, dropping two passes on seven targets.
–Rookie DT Michael Bennett improved from his first NFL action a week ago, grading at +0.4 overall and showing better in run defense — he recording a stop in six of his run snaps. While he did notch two hurries, one was of the clean-up variety and it was over the course of 20 pass-rush snaps, leaving him with a -0.5 pass rush grade.
–Rookie and former Auburn QB Nick Marshall is making the switch to CB, and he played well despite giving up a touchdown on a perfectly thrown ball by Ryan Nassib. Marshall allowed only one other catch on 12 pass snaps.
Top 5 graded players:
1. OL Stefen Wisniewski +3.8
2. DT Ziggy Hood +2.1
3. LB John Lotulelei +2.0
4. DT Tyson Alualu, DE Ryan Davis +1.8
New York Giants
–Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. could not find a rhythm. This was obvious from the first play, on which Manning underthrew deep to a wide open Beckham. They never connected on five targets. Frustrated after another missed deep ball, Beckham took his anger out on safety Sergio Brown with a shove after the play.
–Manning struggled throwing to everyone else, as well, as he was 0-for-7 on passes over 10 yards. With a -1.5 grade on just 14 passes, Manning’s best throw was a pretty 22-yard back-shoulder fade that was dropped by Preston Parker.
–Backup QB Ryan Nassib was on fire, as he thrived under pressure and graded out at +4.1. Even though most of Nassib’s damage was against second- and third-stringers, he showed command of the no-huddle offense and fit the ball into several tight windows with great velocity — including his aforementioned touchdown to Dwayne Harris that beat Nick Marshall.
–Rookie first-round OT Ereck Flowers struggled in pass protection with a -1.1 grade, giving up a hit and a hurry. On the other hand, Flowers was stout in run blocking, grading at +1.6 on just eight snaps.
Top 5 graded players:
1. QB Ryan Nassib +4.1
2. LT Emmett Cleary +2.0
3. C Dallas Reynolds +1.7
4. LG Michael Bamiro +1.6
5. LB J.T. Thomas, LG Justin Pugh +1.5
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