John Harbaugh Reacts To Offensive Performances In First Preseason Game As Giants Head Coach

In what was a relatively low-scoring affair, which is to be expected for the first game of the preseason, there were still a lot of things that can be gleaned from the Giants, especially for head coach John Harbaugh, who is in his first year with his new team and trying to gather as much information as possible in a short amount of time.

With the final score an afterthought, the biggest story of the day was quarterback Jaxson Dart, who went 3-for-4 for 26 yards and a touchdown pass during his brief appearance. However, he was also sacked twice, with one of those sacks sending him to the medical tent.

"He said he just got the wind knocked out of him," Harbaugh said regarding that play. "He was fine."

To his credit, Dart returned to the field after Jameis Winston and Devin Singletary got New York in the red zone on a screen pass that went for 40 yards and the second-year quarterback quickly followed suit with a dime to rookie wide receiver Malachi Fields for the touchdown.

The throw was put in the perfect spot where Fields was able to use his 6-foot-4 frame and make a contested catch that perhaps a shorter receiver would not be able to make. Fields, a third-round draft pick out of Notre Dame, caught all three of his targets for 34 yards and a score.

"That’s one of the reasons we drafted him," Harbaugh said about Fields' ability to make contested catches. "That’s one of the things he does exceptionally well, and he’s getting better at so many things, but that’s a heck of a play… 

"Most red zone touchdown passes are not on time. Most red zone touchdown passes are extended and/or plus scrambles. And you got a quarterback that can move around and find a guy, you got a guy who can make a play – that’s how you score a lot of those touchdowns, so that was good to see."

On the scoring play, Dart was able to move around the pocket, escape from potential trouble and set himself to make a good throw -- a pleasant sight after not seeing the pass rush earlier in the game and taking a huge hit.

Even then, Harbaugh came to the aid of Dart by saying the quarterback can assume the blitz is picked up on that play -- Tyrone Tracy just failed to do so.

"My feeling was in that moment we need to block better. That’s what my feeling was," he said.

Harbaugh continued: "I think [Dart] will feel pressure. He has good pocket presence. And he did it on the red zone play and he got himself out so I think he’s good at that, but that’s one that should be picked up [by the running back]."

Speaking of running backs, Cam Skattebo made his return to the field for the first time since a gruesome injury to his ankle/leg ended his encouraging rookie season last year.

The all-gas-no-brake running back ran for 19 yards on four carries, leading all of his teammates with 4.8 yards per carry.

"I was excited about it because I thought I saw the Cam Skattebo that you guys all know," Harbaugh said. "I don't know if he's 100 percent, twitchy and explosive yet, but he's getting there. He’s come a long way in the last 2-3 weeks."