Giants Escape with 40-38 Win over Patriots in Preseason Finale

The New York Giants escaped Gillette Stadium with a 40-38 victory over the New England Patriots in the preseason finale for both teams Thursday. 

After the Patriots erased a 34-14 halftime deficit with 24 points in the second half, Giants rookie quarterback Davis Webb led a seven-play, 55-yard drive that was capped off by Aldrick Rosas' 48-yard field goal with four seconds left. 

With the regular season set to begin next week, the Giants and Patriots held back virtually all of their projected starters to let the backups get one more chance to shine before rosters get cut to 53 Saturday. 

The Giants probably saw exactly what they needed to from Geno Smith to feel comfortable giving him the No. 2 quarterback job behind Eli Manning. The former second-round pick went 10-of-11 for 111 yards and a terrific 25-yard touchdown pass between three Patriots defenders to tight end Matt LaCosse.

Josh Johnson did put the heat on Smith in the race to be New York's backup. After taking over in the second quarter, he went 11-of-14 for 135 yards and one touchdown. This was the most playing time he's received this preseason, coming into Thursday with a total of 20 pass attempts in the previous three games.

Among the players on New York's roster fighting for a spot, rookie cornerback Donte Deayon was looking to make a strong final impression after returning an interception for a touchdown against the New York Jets last week. 

The one big weakness for Deayon showed up against the Patriots, as Dan Duggan of NJ Advanced Media noted:

Deayon is officially listed at 5'9" and 158 pounds. He does know the defense well after spending last season on the practice squad, but he's got such a small margin for error because of his limited stature. 

Defensive end Kerry Wynn provided one of the defensive highlights for the Giants. He made an outstanding read on a screen pass by Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett, intercepted the ball and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown. 

That was about the only big mistake Brissett made. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick used the 24-year-old quarterback for the entire game, and he responded by going 28-of-39 for 341 yards and five total touchdowns.

Brissett was thrown into starting duty as a rookie last season when Tom Brady was suspended and Jimmy Garoppolo got injured during the Patriots' Week 2 game against the Miami Dolphins. He was effective in a 27-0 victory over the Houston Texans with 151 total yards and one rushing touchdown. 

The Patriots will go as far as Brady takes them, but at least Belichick can feel confident in the depth he has at quarterback if he needs to use it during the regular season. 

On the list of things Belichick may have to worry about is depth at cornerback and punt returner. Cyrus Jones, a second-round pick out of Alabama in 2016, injured his knee on a non-contact play. 

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the Patriots "fear is [Jones] suffered a serious, potentially season-ending knee injury" and he has an MRI scheduled for Friday morning. 

NESN's Zack Cox broke down the list of players with punt-return experience with Jones and Julian Edelman injured:

Beyond the bad news for New England, wide receiver Devin Lucien had his best game of the preseason with 96 yards and one touchdown on five receptions. 

Lucien has good size—listed at 6'2" and 200 pounds—but USA Today's Henry McKenna pointed out he could be in a bad spot given the team's roster construction:

The Giants and Patriots are ready for the regular season. Both teams have dealt with significant injuries to key players, though the Giants did get good news when wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. took part in a light workout on the field before the game. 

The Patriots are still the class of the AFC with Brady and Belichick leading the way. The Giants made huge strides last season with 11 wins and a playoff appearance. They will be looking to improve upon that success in 2017, hoping to end up where the Patriots finished last season.