ORCHARD PARK — A couple of the Giants with the most on the line in preseason games didn’t play a snap Saturday against the Bills.

But one played the whole first half.

As the primary Giants defensive players left the field after successfully forcing two punts in just eight plays, cornerback Deonte Banks remained in action with the reserves until the halftime whistle.

Why? There was more to it than just a cornerback shortage with Cor’Dale Flott, Tre Hawkins and Art Green unavailable.

“I thought he could use some work,” head coach Brian Daboll said. “So I played him as much as I wanted to play him.”

Banks is locked in a battle to start against Flott, who hasn’t practiced in the past week due to injury.

“We only had four corners so somebody has to go [extra],” Banks said. “I’m cool out there. I like football, so I’m … just doing my job.”

Banks is often critiqued for maintaining tight coverage but failing to turn his head in time to anticipate the ball, which can hinder his ability to break up passes. A similar situation unfolded in the second quarter, but Banks managed to push Kristian Wilkerson out of bounds, resulting in an incomplete pass despite Wilkerson’s catch.

“I feel like I closed in on him,” Banks shared with The Post. “I glanced early, noticed the ball heading my way, and attempted to play through his hands. Throughout this camp, I’ve been focusing on spotting the ball better. I thought, ‘If I had turned the other way, there was a chance to intercept it.’ Lately, I’ve been engaging a lot with chest-to-chest plays, and this throw ended up in my blind spot.”

Banks’ tackling effort was suspect last season and preseason games are the only opportunity for live tackling.

“I missed a tackle out there — the running back bounced out to the right and I kept sliding down,” Banks said. “But we haven’t tackled in a minute, so it’s a little rusty. But I did make a good tackle.”

In addition to Flott, Green and Hawkins, the Giants were without RG Evan Neal, WR Jalin Hyatt, WR Malik Nabers, WR Darius Slayton, RB Cam Skattebo, EDGE Chauncey Golston and DT Dexter Lawrence among others.

Most players who did not play, including Hyatt, were medical-based decisions, Daboll said.

Neal’s absence was the most costly as he needs preseason reps while transitioning to a new position and battling Greg Van Roten to start.

Russell Wilson completed 6-of-7 passes for 28 yards — rolling the pocket and utilizing mostly his tight ends and running backs on short routes — as part of a 12-play, 30-yard drive for a field goal in his one-series-long Giants debut.

“I think these preseason games mean so much to the culture of the locker room to pregame warmups to the whole rhythm of how we do that,” Wilson said. “I definitely wanted to play.”

All four quarterbacks led the team to points.

Jameis Winston threw a touchdown pass to Gunner Olszewski and a two-point conversion to Thomas Fidone. Both were great catches.

Winston capitalized on a second chance after an interception negated by an offside penalty.

Tommy DeVito threw a touchdown pass to Jonathan Ward.

Facing uphill battles to make the roster at defensive tackle, former draft picks D.J. Davidson and Jordon Riley had the only sacks and tackles for loss by the Giants.