Giants’ Webb bounces back in win over Lions
Davis Webb eased doubts he could be a capable backup quarterback for the Giants in their win over the Lions.
Davis Webb took a step toward restoring confidence that he can be a capable backup quarterback for the New York Giants.
Webb took advantage of his opportunity to play for Eli Manning, throwing a goahead touchdown in the second quarter to help the New York Giants beat the Detroit Lions 30-17 Friday night.
“Everyone says that wins don’t matter in the preseason, but they leave a much better feeling in the locker room,” Giants coach Pat Shurmur said.
Webb was 14 of 20 for 140 yards with an 8-yard TD pass to Wayne Gallman Jr., who scored for a second time later in the game. Webb showed poise in the pocket and touch down the field, connecting on a perfectly lofted 40-yard pass to Russell Shepard to set up Aldrick Rosas’ 55-yard field goal in the second quarter.
“I just wanted to hit the reset button on everything that
happened last week,” Webb said.
Manning, a two-time Super Bowl MVP, was a healthy scratch.
Webb, a 2017 third-round pick, played well after not playing so well last week. He was 9 of 22 for 70 yards, sailing passes over open receivers in the preseason opening loss against Cleveland, raising some concerns about whether he’s ready to be the team’s No. 2 quarterback.
“I was very happy to see Davis Webb bounce back that well as a starter,” Shurmur said. “He made significant improvements from last week to this week, and that shows why we have so much confidence in him. I thought he was calmer and he did a very nice job.”
The Giants rested rookie running back Saquon Barkley with a strained hamstring and didn’t test receiver
Odell Beckham Jr.’s surgically repaired ankle.
Giants rookie quarterback Kyle Lauletta, a fourth-round pick, scrambled and scored on a 10yard run in the third quarter to put the Giants ahead 17-3. Gallman took an inside handoff and bounced to the outside on an 11yard run to put New York up by three TDs early in the fourth.
The Lions started Matthew Stafford after sitting him in last week’s game at Oakland and he didn’t have much time to make plays behind a porous offensive line. Stafford was 2 of 5 for 51 yards and was sacked twice and hit once as he threw.
Detroit coach Matt Patricia, though, refused to blame the guys up front.
“I don’t think we played particularly well at any position,” he said.
Jake Rudock replaced Stafford in the second quarter and finished 23 of 30 for 171 yards with a TD. Rudock came back in the fourth, relieving veteran
Matt Cassel, who threw an interception.
Even though it was just a preseason game, Patricia was clearly not happy with his players, staff and himself.
“We got to do a better job and it starts with me,” he said. “We’ve got to get these guys ready to go. We obviously have a lot of work to do.”
INJURIES
Giants: RB Jalen Simmons left the game in the second half with a concussion. Shepard left the game in the fourth with a finger injury.
Lions: LB Steve Longa appeared to hurt his right knee when he tried to tackle Lauletta on his TD run in the third quarter. After being evaluated on the field, Longa walked off the field slowly and went toward the locker room.
HE’S BACK
Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah played for the first time this preseason, coming back from an undisclosed
injury that kept him out of the beginning of training camp.
“I noticed him on a couple plays,” Patricia said. “It was good that he was out there, working hard.”
NATIONAL ANTHEM
There were no player protests during the national anthem. The Lions, as they did last week, stood on the sideline with their arms locked together. The Giants all stood at attention and many players held their right hand over their heart.
PREGAME CHAT
Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders met Barkley before the game, chatted briefly and posed for some pictures.
“He’s put together,” Sanders said.
UP NEXT
Giants: Face the Jets on the field they share, technically as the visitors on Aug. 24.
Lions: Visit Tampa Bay on Aug. 24.