Jets Defeat Giants 27-25: The Giants dropped their second preseason game in a row tonight at the Meadowlands, falling 27-25 to the New York Jets.
On their opening drive, the Giants marched 60 yards, capping off the 10-play drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass from QB Eli Manning to HB Brandon Jacobs on 3rd-and-goal. When the Jets got the ball for the first time, the Giants forced a three-and-out.
On the Giants’ second drive, WR Domenik Hixon’s dropped pass was intercepted, setting up the Jets at the Giants’ own 27-yard line. Eight plays later, the Jets tied the game on a one-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-goal. Giants 7 – Jets 7.
The Giants regained the lead on their third drive by moving the ball 48 yards in seven plays to set up a 38-yard field goal by PK Lawrence Tynes. Giants 10 – Jets 7.
The Jets went three-and-out on their next possession as DE Mathias Kiwanuka came up with a sack. However, the Giants turned the ball over to the Jets as Jacobs fumbled the ball away at the Jets’ 27-yard line. The Giants then forced yet another three-and-out, their third in four possessions.
The Giants marched 56 yards in seven plays to set up another field goal by Tynes, this one from 26 yards out. Giants 13 – Jets 7. The Jets then took their first lead of the game as they drove 62 yards in just four plays, including big pass plays of 29 yards and 31 yards, the latter being for a touchdown. Jets 14 – Giants 13.
Then it was the Giants turn to go three-and-out. The Jets subsequently scored again, this time on a 42-yard field goal as they moved the ball 35 yards in eight plays. The Giants went three-and-out again and the Jets were unable to score on their final possession of the first half as time expired. At the half, the Giants trailed 17-13.
With the starters still playing, both teams exchanged three-and-outs to start the third quarter. On their second possession of the second half, the Jets drove 73 yards in eight plays to set up a 25-yard field goal. Jets 20 – Giants 13.
With the second teamers now in the game, the Giants managed one first down on their second possession of the half and then were forced to punt. The Jets went three-and-out. The Giants drove from their 41-yard line to the Jets’ 30-yard line, but HB Danny Ware lost three yards on 3rd-and-5. Tynes subsequently missed the 51-yard field goal attempt.
The Jets went three-and-out again. The Giants began a long 14-play, 99-yard drive that culminated in a 22-yard touchdown pass from QB David Carr to WR Hakeem Nicks. Carr’s 2-point conversion attempt failed. Jets 20 – Giants 19.
With under five minutes to play, things got a little crazy as both teams exchanged long touchdown passes. On the first offensive play immediately after the Giants’ ensuing kickoff, the Jets completed a 70-yard pass for a touchdown, expanding their advantage to 27-19. But then the Giants quickly scored on a 4-play, 77-yard effort, the big playing being a 71-yard strike from Carr to Nicks. The two-point rushing attempt by HB Allen Patrick failed. Jets 27 – Giants 25.
The Jets went three-and-out, and the Giants got the ball back with less than a minute to play at their own 38-yard line. But after a 6-yard completion, Carr foolishly took two sacks. On 4th-and-24, Carr completed an 18-yard pass to Nicks, but it obviously was not enough to pick up the first down. Game over.
“That was a tough game for us to lose,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “I thought we had some chances and had some opportunities; obviously we didn’t take advantage of the two point plays. We had some dropped balls that hurt us. I thought David Carr played well for his part in the game. We had some big plays, and yet, we dropped some big plays. We had two turnovers, which hurt us. We kicked some field goals that should have been points on the board, in terms of touchdowns, we were in position to do that. I was disappointed in that. I thought we played hard. We obviously made some errors, but on the other hand, we had a chance right there at the end to do something about it and we didn’t quite get that done. I saw some things that gave me some encouragement.”
Manning finished the night completing only 9-of-21 passes for one touchdown and one interception. Carr was 12-of-17 for 181 yards and two touchdowns. HB Ahmad Bradshaw carried the ball 8 times for 47 yards, HB Danny Ware 9 times for 43 yards, and Jacobs 6 times for 24 yards. Nicks caught 6 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns while WR Mario Manningham caught 4 passes for 41 yards.
“We came out in the no-huddle, and that’s something we’ve been working on,” said Manning. “We wanted to come out and do it with our regular offense. We had a real good first drive. We drove down there with a bunch of good plays. We got them to jump offsides a few times to get a first down and a touchdown, so that was a good start. The next series we had the tipped ball interception. We did some good things and moved the ball at times, but we settled for too many field goals. The two turnovers were very costly. One stopped us from getting a touchdown, and the other kept us from a chance of putting points on the board. We’ve got a few things to go back and work on.”
The Giants’ defense allowed 99 net yards rushing and 215 net yards passing. The defense forced no turnovers and only picked up one sack (by Kiwanuka).
“After last week’s performance, we wanted to come out here and improve,” said DE Justin Tuck. “We did some good things, but we still have a lot to work on. We had a good opponent tonight, and this is as close to regular season action as you are going to get. Things were a little bit better, but we are still not satisfied. We made some plays but could’ve made more. We will go in and watch the film and come out next week and continue to build. We had some guys not going tonight that are going to be there in the regular season. That’s not an excuse, but our chemistry is not where we’d like it to be. We’ll continue to grow and get better every day.”
Highlights of the game are available at NFL.com.
Post-Game Notes and Quotes: HB Brandon Jacobs injured his forearm in the game. “He was fine,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “He played up until that point and he was to be replaced at that point. The x-rays were negative.”
Not playing against the Jets were WR David Tyree (hamstring), DT/DE Chris Canty (hamstring), DT Jay Alford (knee), LB Antonio Pierce (foot), LB Michael Boley (hip), CB Aaron Ross (hamstring), OL Orrin Thompson (quad), and HB Andre Brown (Achilles).
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