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Davis Webb restores confidence he can be able backup

New York Giants quarterback Davis Webb looks towards the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Friday, Aug. 17, 2018, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
New York Giants quarterback Davis Webb looks towards the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Friday, Aug. 17, 2018, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
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DETROIT >> Davis Webb took a step toward restoring confidence that he can be a capable backup quarterback for the Giants.

Webb took advantage of his opportunity to play for Eli Manning, throwing a go-ahead touchdown in the second quarter to help the New York Giants beat the Detroit Lions 30-17 Friday night.

“Everyone says that wins don’t matter in the preseason, but they leave a much better feeling in the locker room,” Giants coach Pat Shurmur said.

Webb was 14 of 20 for 140 yards with an 8-yard TD pass to Wayne Gallman Jr., who scored for a second time later in the game. Webb showed poise in the pocket and touch down the field, connecting on a perfectly lofted 40-yard pass to Russell Shepard to set up Aldrick Rosas’ 55-yard field goal in the second quarter.

“I just wanted to hit the reset button on everything that happened last week,” Webb said.

Manning, a two-time Super Bowl MVP, was a healthy scratch.

Webb, a 2017 third-round pick, played well after performing well last week. He was 9 of 22 for 70 yards, sailing passes over open receivers in the preseason opening loss against Cleveland to raise some concerns about whether he’s ready to be the team’s No. 2 quarterback.

“I was very happy to see Davis Webb bounce back that well as a starter,” Shurmur said. “He made significant improvements from last week to this week, and that shows why we have so much confidence in him. I thought he was calmer and he did a very nice job.”

The Giants rested rookie running back Saquon Barkley with a strained hamstring and didn’t test receiver Odell Beckham Jr.’s surgically repaired ankle.

Giants rookie quarterback Kyle Lauletta, a fourth-round pick, scrambled and scored on a 10-yard run in the third quarter to put the Giants ahead 17-3. Gallman took an inside handoff and bounced to the outside on an 11-yard run to put New York up by three TDs early in the fourth.

The Lions started Matthew Stafford after sitting him in last week’s game at Oakland and he didn’t have much time to make plays behind a porous offensive line. Stafford was 2 of 5 for 51 yards and was sacked twice and hit once as he threw.

Detroit coach Matt Patricia, though, refused to blame the guys up front.

“I don’t think we played particularly well at any position,” he said.

Jake Rudock replaced Stafford in the second quarter and finished 23 of 30 for 171 yards with a TD. Rudock came back in the fourth, relieving veteran Matt Cassel, who threw an interception.

Even though it was just a preseason game, Patricia was clearly not happy with his players, staff and himself.

“We got to do a better job and it starts with me,” he said. “We’ve got to get these guys ready to go. We obviously have a lot of work to do.”