The Giants beat the Dolphins 26-3 on Saturday afternoon in Miami and outgained them 390 yards to 102. Miami did not pick up a single first down after halftime.
Jameis Winston played the first half and threw for 150 yards while adding a rushing touchdown. Devin Singletary ran for a score and finished with 40 yards on eight carries. Dominic Zvada and Ben Sauls kicked two field goals apiece. Brandon Allen relieved Winston and went 13 of 18 for 101 yards, leading two more scoring drives.
“After we did well in the practice, we wanted to make sure we followed it up in the game,” John Harbaugh said, referring to Thursday’s joint session at Miami’s facility.
Jaxson Dart took part in pregame drills but did not play.
Dolphins played their backups on purpose
New York did this against a roster that barely resembled the one the Dolphins will field on Sept. 13. Miami deliberately held its starters out and gave the work to the back end of its 90-man roster. Jordyn Brooks, Aaron Brewer, De’Von Achane and Patrick Paul were all unavailable. Starting quarterback Malik Willis was in street clothes, and Quinn Ewers, second on the depth chart, sat out with a groin injury from the preseason opener. Rookie Cam Miller started and went 6 of 11 for 60 yards with two sacks taken.
The most striking detail from Miami’s side came after the game, when Jeff Hafley explained why the second half looked the way it did. The Dolphins had signed linebacker Stephen Dix Jr. on Friday. Hafley met him Saturday morning. Dix, undrafted out of Arkansas and released by the Cardinals in June, had not been through training camp with any team, and he started the entire second half.
Coaches had to relay the defensive call to him, have him repeat it to the huddle, then tell him his own assignment on every snap. Miami ran roughly two calls the whole half.
“Which has never happened to me in my life,” Hafley said, before giving Dix credit for fighting through it.
Dix told reporters he had a 30-minute meeting with his position coach and was essentially instructed to run sideline to sideline while someone talked him through it. He described it as a dream.
Friday against the Jets is the last one
A 23-point preseason win over a team playing its third-string defense with a linebacker signed 24 hours earlier is not evidence about September. What it does show is that the Giants took the joint-practice week seriously and carried it into the game, which is the thing Harbaugh has been asking for.
Cutdown to 53 is Aug. 30. The preseason finale is Friday at MetLife against the Jets.
