BSJ Game Report: Patriots 22, Giants 20 - Defense, Mac Jones (2nd half) shine to finish preseason

Everything you need to know from the Patriots’ win over the Giants in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

HEADLINES

Cam Newton gets treated like the starter, but Belichick declines to declare one: Newton got, basically, the first quarter and played with all the starters — and he was better than his final stats (2 of 5, 10 yards, INT, 8.3 passer rating). Mac Jones entered in the second quarter and played with only the backups. On any team, you'd say that any quarterback competition has been done and settled. But Bill Belichick, in his usual style, left it open for debate when asked if he has decided on the Week 1 starter at quarterback. "Yeah, no, we still have a lot of decisions to make," he said. Not sure how much I believe him. When does Belichick ever make roster decisions public to the media? I think this is just him stringing the Dolphins along so they have to prepare for both quarterbacks.

Mac Jones struggles, then soars: When Jones took the field in the second quarter, it was with second-team players against the Giants' defensive starters, and it showed. He had two drives that totaled 11 plays and 53 yards, although the Patriots did get a field goal out of the first possession. Jones was 3 of 5 for 48 yards, but he was also sacked twice. After the break, when Jones' teammates had an even fight with the backup Giants, Jones caught fire going 7 of 9 for 108 yards and a touchdown as he led two touchdown drives that totaled 10 plays and 125 yards. Jones was still a little deliberate on his dropbacks, as he was sacked another two times. It was strange, like he was under orders not to just throw the ball away. A few he didn't need to take. Most were from Jones waiting for a receiver to come open.

Some curious veterans on the field late: Sometimes you can see a potential cut coming by the players being on the field late in the preseason finale (sometimes it means nothing). So for informational purposes, some surprising veterans being on the field late: DE Henry Anderson, DE Chase Winovich, DT Montravius Adams, DB Joejuan Williams. Anderson is the biggest surprise, because he's been really good in practice and Belichick has spoken highly of him. With Winovich, you can make the argument (just like Devin Asiasi) that he missed a lot of time and simply needed reps.

THREE UP

DE Josh Uche: Completely blew up the Giants' line (like he did in practice), with a sack and another quarterback hit. 

RB JJ Taylor: In addition to running great between the tackles (9 carries, 76 yards), he also fielded three punts and one kickoff.

TE Devin Asiasi: The second-year TE finally showed up with four catches for 64 yards, including a 30-yard backshoulder from Mac Jones in the seam.

THREE DOWN

WR Gunner Olszewski: Had a brutal drop of a perfect Jones pass down the field (0 for 2 on receptions), and seemed to draw the QB's ire when it came to his route running. Add in Taylor showing that he can handle all kicks, it makes you wonder if Belichick would cut the reining All-Pro punt returner. 

CB Michael Jackson: Had a brutal penalty and seemed to give up a lot of plays.

WR Nelson Agholor: Finished his first preseason with one catch for 4 yards on two pass attempts. Hopefully this means nothing when it comes to the preseason.

INJURIES

Didn't notice any.

TOP PLAYS

TWO TAKES BEDARD WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

I'm worried about the passing offense, which leads me to Cam Newton: Outside of Kendrick Bourne and Jakobi Meyers, the rest of the new Patriots target crew — Agholor, Jonnu Smith, Hunter Henry, Matt LaCosse, Asiasi (until tonight) — have gotten very limited good work during this camp. This is not a crew that has been together very much, and that's somewhat concerning to me. Yes, I'm sure they'll all be full-go now that they have two weeks of prep for Miami, and I'm sure they'll do good work there. But do we really think the passing offense is going to be tip-top for Week 1? This is part of the reason why I think Belichick will start with Newton. They'll have to run the ball to wait for the passing offense to get synced up. Newton gives you that, and Jones is always there if the scoreboard indicates you need to air it out.

All bets are off now: If you think Belichick is going to give us all the information we need on this team, with two weeks to prepare behind closed doors, I think you're fooling yourselves. I think Belichick is going to make a few major changes (QB could be one of them) to the lineup between now and the start of the regular season. I don't know what that means, but I think Belichick saw the schedule before the season and was very happy. I think he used all of camp and the preseason to gather data, put people in certain situations, and come Monday, they will begin making decisions. I don't think a lot of things, including defensive subpackages, have been decided yet. Buckle up.