14 things we learned from Giants-Bears

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — What did we learn from the New York Giants’ 32-13 victory over the Chicago Bears on Friday night? A few things, some of them perhaps even useful. Let’s take a look.

— Eli Manning wasn’t messing around. Playing against Chicago’s second-team defense, this was his first throw.

That’s a dart. Manning finished 4-of-4 for 42 yards and completed a 10-play, 79-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Bennie Fowler. Good to see from Manning. It’s wishful thinking, though, to believe it will keep the wolves away from Manning’s door for a while.

— Bears coach Matt Nagy really doesn’t care about preseason games. No Chicago starter played a single snap on Friday night. Nagy, though, likes to torture football fans. In addition to fielding the Backup Bears, Nagy threw two challenge flags just to make everyone sit around a bit longer.

— Daniel Jones definitely can’t throw the deep ball. Check this out.

— Jones, though, isn’t perfect.

— Jones can tackle. The rookie quarterback was credited with tackles on both of his fumbles, the second of which likely saved a Chicago touchdown.

— Jones has a new nickname. @DannyDimes was trending on Twitter during the game, and is still trending. The giants’ PR Department has itself to blame — or credit — for that one.

— The Giants can sack the quarterback. Markus Golden, Oshane Ximines and Olsen Pierre all had sacks in the first half.

— T.J. Jones is a useful player. The former Detroit Lions wide receiver, signed after training camp began, can help the Giants while Golden Tate serves his four-game suspension. Jones had three catches for 32 yards Friday, including a 15-yard touchdown catch. He also had an 11-yard punt return.

— Preseason football can be ugly. Well, we kinda knew this already, but Friday night reinforced it. There were eight fumbles in the game and a goal line interception thrown by Alex Tanney on a play Pat Shurmur said he drew up in the dirt. Or, whatever passes for dirt in the MetLife Stadium Field Turf.

— Who needs that Saquon guy? The Giants ran the ball 35 times for 161 yards, 4.6 yards per carry. Undrafted free agent Jon Hilliman had 16 carries for 56 yards and a 10-yard touchdown.

— Spreading the wealth. Manning said the Giants will “spread it around and just throw it to the open guy” in the passing game. Fourteen, yes 14, different players caught passes Friday night. Even in a preseason game, that’s a crazy number.

— Chad Slade might make the roster. The former Houston Texans backup offensive lineman started camp at right guard. He moved to right tackle when injuries left that position short. He also played some left guard Friday night. A guy who can do that many things adequately is a valuable reserve.

— This is how you get noticed. Check out Alonzo Russell.

— Saquon Barkley is a preseason cheerleader. Barkley hasn’t played in the Giants’ two preseason games. He almost certainly isn’t playing in the last two. And that’s just fine.