A touchdown with 35 seconds remaining put the New York Giants ahead for good in a 25-22 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2 of the 2022 NFL preseason.

Editor’s note: All grades in this article are subject to review. All PFF player grades will be finalized by 12 pm ET tomorrow.

NEW YORK GIANTS

QUARTERBACK

• Starting quarterback Daniel Jones played 24 snaps Sunday night, completing 14-of-16 pass attempts for 116 yards. Jones threw one interception, but it came from a well-thrown pass that clanged off his receiver’s hands and fell right to rookie safety Daxton Hill. 

• The Giants called play action on 10 of Jones’ 17 dropbacks, with the former sixth overall pick going 9-of-10 for 99 yards on those plays. 

RUNNING BACK

• The Giants ran the ball on only 20 of their 75 plays tonight, with Jashaun Corbin (9) and Antonio Williams (5) accounting for the bulk of the designed rushing attempts. The two combined for 53 rushing yards and 38 yards after contact. 

• Williams was the pick of the two, as he forced two missed tackles and averaged an impressive 3.4 yards after contact per rush attempt.

RECEIVERS

• Fourth-year undrafted free agent Alex Bachman had a day to remember, catching 11 of his 14 targets for 122 yards and two touchdowns. He moved the chains six times, forced three missed tackles and recorded four explosive plays of 15 or more yards.

• Bachman added 53 yards after the catch and averaged 4.69 yards per route run. He’ll finish PFF’s reviews as one of the highest-graded receivers of the Week 2 slate. 

OFFENSIVE LINE

• The Giants offensive line wasn’t credited with a sack tonight. Across 57 pass-blocking snaps, they gave up one hit and 12 hurries.

• Chris Owens, who signed with the Giants just last Friday, gave up just one hurry from 33 pass-blocking snaps and is likely heading for an 80.0-plus pass-blocking grade.

DEFENSIVE LINE

• Giants fans got quite the scare early in the second quarter when Kayvon Thibodeaux went down holding his right knee after taking a cut block. Fortunately, he waived off the cart, left the field under his own power and was seen walking around on the sidelines shortly afterward.

• Thibodeaux rushed the passer 10 times tonight, tallying one quarterback hurry on first review. Through two games, the 2022 first-round pick has managed an 11.1% pass-rush win rate across 18 snaps.

LINEBACKER

• Micah McFadden followed his promising Week 1 performance with another strong outing, earning a 70.0-plus grade against the run, as a tackler and as a pass-rusher on first review. He came away with three solo tackles against the run and one sack.

• Things weren’t as positive for Austin Calitro, who gave up a 112.5 passer rating on throws into his coverage tonight. In all, he allowed three catches from three targets for 33 yards and a first down. 

SECONDARY

• The Giants secondary has had better days. Tonight, the team’s cornerbacks and safeties gave up 15 receptions from 24 targets (61.5%) for 153 yards and 10 first downs, allowing 10.2 yards per reception on average.
• Olaijah Griffin, a 2021 undrafted free agent, allowed four catches for 59 yards into his coverage, with three of those catches going for at least 15 yards. While he did force an incompletion late in the game, he also missed a tackle against the run.

CINCINNATI BENGALS

QUARTERBACK

• Backup Brandon Allen got the start and made one big-time throw — a second-quarter pass to Trent Taylor. Four of Allen’s five incompletions came on passes thrown more than nine yards downfield.
• Undrafted free agent Drew Plitt, on just two attempts, made one turnover-worthy play.

RUNNING BACK

• It was a quiet night on the ground for the Bengals’ backfield before Jacques Patrick entered the contest. Neither Chris Evans nor Trayveon Williams averaged more than 2.0 yards after contact per carry.
• It was a similar story in the passing game. Williams and Evans played 12 and 10 receiving snaps, respectively, but combined for 10 yards on four receptions. Evans did return a kickoff for 73 yards.

RECEIVERS

• Trent Taylor both hauled in a big-time throw from Brandon Allen and made a highlight-reel catch of his own to convert on fourth down. He earned an 86.4 receiving grade on first review.
• Rookie Kwamie Lassiter II brought in all seven of his targets, including three contested grabs, for 91 yards — 25 of which came after the catch.

OFFENSIVE LINE

• The Bengals’ line ceded 16 pressures on 39 team pass-blocking snaps after giving up 13 on 40 snaps in preseason Week 1.
• Fourth-round rookie Cordell Volson handled significant snaps (40 pass blocking, 21 run blocking). He gave up a sack and two hurries in pass protection. 

DEFENSIVE LINE

• 2016 second-rounder Noah Spence notched three quarterback pressures and beat his blocker another four times on the night for his second straight solid preseason effort.
• Rookie Zachary Carter was kept off the stat sheet as a pass-rusher on 32 snaps, but he did make a run stop across 10 run-defense snaps.

LINEBACKER

• The Giants thrived when attacking Bengals linebackers in coverage. The unit combined to allow 15 catches on 15 targets for 119 yards and a touchdown.

SECONDARY

• Allan George and Delonte Hood each forced an incompletion, but they combined to give up 12 catches for nearly 160 yards.

• First-rounder Daxton Hill shined in coverage, making a diving interception and allowing only two catches for 11 yards on three targets.