Giants-Dolphins practice recap: Dart, pass rush both shine as Zvada stays perfect, Mauigoa hurt

The Giants and Dolphins held their only joint practice of the preseason Thursday at the Dolphins' Baptist Health Training Complex in Miami Gardens, ahead of Saturday's preseason game at Hard Rock Stadium. The session ran nearly two hours, starting with one-on-ones, according to Miami Dolphins On SI.

Dart's best practice of the summer

Jaxson Dart had what ESPN's Jordan Raanan called perhaps his best performance of the summer, going 17-of-23 with several deep and intermediate completions, six of them to tight end Isaiah Likely. The Athletic's Charlotte Carroll, posting her own count on X, had Dart at 17-of-21 with an interception. Both reporters agree on 17 completions; they differ on the number of attempts.

"I felt like I played clean," Dart said, according to Raanan.

Coach John Harbaugh connected the day to the offense's struggle to hit downfield shots earlier in camp. "We had a number of chunk gains off play-action, which was good to see," he said. "It's one thing in theory, it's another thing in practice. You want to see it work. At the end of the day, did the play work?" Asked if Thursday validated the new scheme, Harbaugh said, "I agree."

Likely has been the Giants' leading first-team receiver in camp with Malik Nabers still working back from a torn ACL. "Zay's done a great job," offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. Video the Giants posted afterward shows why:

Rookie receiver Malachi Fields also had a strong day, catching a deep ball down the left sideline in a team period and another in the closing hurry-up period, according to the Associated Press. The Giants shared video of the first one, a deep completion from Dart down the sideline:

Defense dominates the trenches

The Giants' pass rush controlled the day. Brian Burns and the front had at least six would-be sacks during team periods, according to the AP; Miami Dolphins On SI counted eight sacks overall, including three in the practice's early periods by defensive lineman Chauncey Golston. Burns beat tackle Caedan Wallace for one sack and, on another rep, spun off Austin Jackson to strip running back De'Von Achane, per the AP. Kayvon Thibodeaux had Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis flushed from the pocket before Willis could reset on one play-action snap.

"Dominant," Burns said. "We don't wait to get punched in the mouth. ... I don't know how many sacks we had, but it was definitely more than six."

Willis finished 12-of-20 and was sacked seven times, according to Miami Dolphins On SI, which also credited rookie linebacker Arvell Reese with beating Dolphins center Aaron Brewer on a run blitz to blow up a running play. Harbaugh called the pass rush "ferocious." "That's practice, so you've got to come do it in the game," he said. "But I was impressed with it."

Zvada goes 6-for-6

Rookie kicker Dominic Zvada made all six of his attempts, capping the practice with a field goal after the Giants drove the field on a two-minute drill that started at their own 35 with just over a minute left, according to ESPN and Miami Dolphins On SI. Cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. broke up a pass intended for Darnell Mooney on that same drive before Zvada's kick sealed it. The Dolphins answered with a field goal of their own on the previous possession, though that drive included two sacks on a three-and-out.

Zvada has outkicked incumbent Ben Sauls through camp — 48-of-51 to Sauls' 41-of-48 through Aug. 12 — in a competition Harbaugh has said remains undecided.

Guard depth thins further

Rookie right guard Francis Mauigoa left practice with a stinger and did not return to team drills. Harbaugh said the injury wasn't believed to be serious. Josh Ezeudu was next in line at the position, according to ESPN.

The Giants have little margin there. They traded backup guard Daniel Faalele to Jacksonville on Wednesday for a 2027 sixth-round pick, a move Pro Football Focus flagged in its 2026 offensive line rankings — the Giants fell to 23rd, down from ninth to close last season — as leaving a thin group behind starters Jon Runyan Jr. and Mauigoa.

Elsewhere on offense, newly signed running back Najee Harris took live 11-on-11 reps just three days after joining the team, including a goal-line carry Raanan described as an "impressive cut" into the end zone.

Fights, and a fine elsewhere

The teams got into roughly a half-dozen flare-ups over the session, by Miami Dolphins On SI's count, starting when Abdul Carter and Dolphins tackle Patrick Paul tangled in one-on-ones and continuing to the final play, when a scrum involving at least five players broke out right after Zvada's game-ending field goal. That's covered in detail in a separate GiantsGator report.

Harbaugh, on the team's overall rules of engagement: "We decided that anybody that threw a punch in those scrimmages would be treated like the game. That's why [offensive lineman] Jermaine [Eluemunor] didn't practice toward the end. He didn't really throw a hard punch, but it was to the facemask, and that'll get you in the game. So, that's a 15-yarder at least. … We decided that we were following those rules of engagement, and that's what we did with that one." Dart, on the fighting: "It was a good practice. We got a lot of good work in, but the fights, it's unnecessary … I ain't mad at a fight or nothing like that, but just don't let it get in the way to work. We got a lot of things to do and a lot of big things I want to do this year, so we can't let reps go to waste."

The fights came the same day the NFL fined the Cowboys and Saints $500,000 each for their own joint-practice brawl on Aug. 18, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. Neither the league nor either team has said anything yet about discipline for Thursday's practice.