Tight end Evan Engram has been one of the most durable players for the Giants this summer, enduring training camp without missing a beat. Coming off a season in which he played in all 16 games for the first time in his four-year career, Engram was successfully shaking the injury-bug label that stuck to him in his previous years.
Engram, though, did not make it out of his first preseason action, as he was forced out of Sunday night’s 22-20 loss to the Patriots at MetLife Stadium with a left calf injury. Given the nature of calf injuries — they tend to linger — this could be a troublesome development for the Giants, as they open the regular season in two weeks with a home game against the Broncos.
Engram had three catches for 22 yards before he left the field.
Receiver Darius Slayton departed in the second quarter with injuries to his foot and ankle and did not return. Slayton had one catch for 6 yards and also a drop of a well-thrown ball by Jones in the first quarter.
“I’d say you talk to the players, they’re all very optimistic,’’ coach Joe Judge said of Engram and Slayton, “but we’ll see where they’re at.’’
Backup QB Mike Glennon hit WR Alex Bachman for a 12-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Glennon tossed a 43-yard touchdown pass to Damion Willis with eight seconds remaining to pull the Giants within two points, but the two-point conversion failed when Glennon’s pass to Dante Pettis fell incomplete.
FB Eli Penny in the second half had runs of 15 and 14 yards against the Patriots second-team defense. … OLB Trent Harris, making a push to make the roster, had a sack of rookie QB Mac Jones. … K Graham Gano missed a 41-yard field-goal attempt in the third quarter. Gano missed only one field goal try in 2020. … Veteran offensive linemen Ted Larsen, trying to make the team as a backup guard/center, limped off the field with 3:57 remaining.
Judge wore a red U.S.Marines hat, honoring the soldiers who died this past week in Afghanistan. For the coin toss, Nick Gates wore a Marines hat, Jabrill Peppers wore an Army hat and Blake Martinez wore a Navy hat. “We coach and play a game,’’ Judge said. “It’s important to keep that in perspective. The reality is, it’s serious to us because it’s a serious business. We’re paid very handsomely to go out there and do a job. But at the end of the day it is a game, it’s entertainment. Now, they’re playing life and death. It’s important we stay very grateful and acknowledge what they’re doing on a daily basis.’’
The Giants displayed a video tribute early in the second quarter in memory of Jim Fassel, the former Giants head coach, who passed away June 7 at the age of 71. Fassel’s family was in attendance for the game.