NY Giants O-line did run block very well.
NY Giants hold off Jets 13-7
NFL.com wire reports
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (Aug. 25, 2006) -- With the Giants defense playing so well, Eli Manning can afford to have an off day.
While Manning struggled, the defense put in another stellar performance, notching five sacks and three turnovers in a 13-7 victory against the New York Jets. Neither offense did much of anything, but neither team seemed too concerned.
Manning went 10-for-20 for 107 yards with an interception. Chad Pennington started for the Jets, but also played inconsistently, going 11-for-20 for 125 yards with an interception.
"We just couldn't get a good rhythm," Manning said. "We got something good going at the end of the first half, but the Jets did a good job of making it tough on our passing game by dropping a lot of guys."
Tiki Barber was about the only player producing on either team. His 20-yard run into Jets territory helped the Giants finally mount a drive late in the second quarter.
The Giants (3-0) scored when Brandon Jacobs plowed in on a 1-yard run with 56 seconds left in the half. Manning played one series in the third quarter and led another scoring drive, capped by Jay Feely's 39-yard field goal.
Barber finished with 11 carries for 60 yards in one half of work, and the Giants ran for 142 yards on 36 carries in the game. But it was the defense that stood out once again. Darrell McClover's blocked punt return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter prevented the Giants from posting their second successive shutout.
"This is two straight weeks we have played well on defense," said linebacker Brandon Short, who had two sacks. "The sky is the limit for this defense as we all get comfortable with this system."
The Giants defense hasn't allowed a touchdown since the opening series against Baltimore in a 17-16 victory to open the preseason. They had five sacks against the Jets, with several more knockdowns on Pennington and Kellen Clemens, and forced three turnovers.
Brandon Jacobs' 1-yard plunge opened the scoring and sent the Giants on their way to victory.
"We're setting a tone and a precedent for the season," Giants linebacker LaVar Arrington said. "It's not the prettiest, but it's something to keep building on."
The Jets (1-2) need to find something to build on, and cut down on the miscues. Running back Kevan Barlow, acquired in a trade with San Francisco last Sunday, lost a fumble on the Jets' second possession of the game.
On their next drive, rookie D'Brickashaw Ferguson was whistled for a false start, and Doug Jolley was flagged 15 years for unnecessary roughness when he used his head to shove Sam Madison while the two were out of bounds.
After Erik Coleman intercepted Manning and gave the Jets great field goal position, Ferguson was whistled for a false start again. This time it was on fourth-and-1 from the Giants 28 late in the first quarter, and it took the Jets out of field goal range.
There were other errors. Mike Nugent missed a 49-yard field goal when the ball hit the upright in the second quarter. The Jets tried their hurry-up offense to close the half and got down to the Giants 40, but Antonio Pierce sacked Pennington.
The quarterback stayed in for two series in the third quarter. But R.W. McQuarters intercepted his badly thrown pass on the first drive, and the Jets went three and out on the next. Clemens came on in relief and struggled badly, going 3-for-11 for 24 yards with an interception.
The play of the Jets offense in three preseason games could be cause for concern. Pennington has led no scoring drives in the two games he has played. He missed the victory against Washington last week to be with his ailing father in Tennessee.
"The name of the game is inconsistency," Pennington said. "We have a few good plays, and then we have self-inflicted wounds to stall our drives. ... We've shown some spurts of real good football. Our effort is there. But we can't confuse effort with results."
While Clemens did little in his appearance, Jared Lorenzen had some success. Lorenzen, known more for his girth, put together a nice drive against the Jets' defensive starters. He went 5-for-7 for 44 yards on the series to set up Feely's 34-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
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