The NY Giants and Cincinnati Bengals are playing live on the NFL preseason schedule on Friday night and the debut for both teams comes from Paul Brown Stadium and starts at 7:30 pm ET for Eli Manning and Andy Dalton, while players like Victor Cruz and Prince Amukamara will be out for New York in the opening exhibition matchup.
The Giants are looking to get back to the playoffs this season after missing out since winning the Super Bowl and the offense could be the key. The defense must play better, but if the team doesn't get that for a second straight season, the offense will have to pick up the slack. Down the stretch the Giants were one of the best offenses in 2014 and that was partially due to the emergence of Odell Beckham.
Manning and the starters are expected to get some light work and Beckham could be involved in that. Cruz will be out as he is continuing to come back from a knee injury, but the team is hoping that he will be ready for the first week of the season. Nat Berhe will be out along with Will Beatty and Geoff Schwartz and the Giants offensive line needs to show something as they try and bounce back this season. Last year the OL dealt with injuries and inconsistent play and the team needs more from the group.
The Giants brought in Ereck Flowers in the draft and he is expected to start right away, while Justin Pugh will be looking to improve after an up and down season. The Giants open the preseason with the Bengals and then the team plays against the Jaguars at home and the Jets at "home" before finishing off against the Patriots. The Giants and Pats have made this a yearly matchup following the Super Bowl games the teams have played against each other.
The Patriots are coming into the season with Tom Brady facing a suspension and they are likely going to have a tough time with Jimmy Garoppolo starting things off. The Giants open the season against the Dallas Cowboys and then the team will be home against the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins before hitting the road against the Buffalo Bills. The team has three of four on the road after that with the Eagles, Cowboys at home and then the Saints and Buccaneers on the road.
The schedule continues with the New England Patriots and that game will be in New Jersey and is another rematch of the Super Bowl games the teams had. Tom Brady and Eli Manning could face off if healthy and following that the Giants play the Redskins before a game against the Jets. The team plays the Dolphins next and then finishes the season with the Panthers, Vikings and Eagles.
Check here for the Giants and Bengals live coverage.
Check here for updates from the game and the score from NFL.com
