Preseason: New York Giants 26 – New York Jets 3

Giants Dominate Jets, But Injuries a Concern: The New York Giants defeated the New York Jets 26-3 on Saturday night at MetLife Stadium.

But for the Giants, injuries suffered in the game could diminish the victory.

• DE Justin Tuck appeared to injure his neck or shoulder early in the game. He eventually returned, but he was bothered by neck/shoulder injuries all of last season.

• CB Jayron Hosley injured his right foot and was wearing a protective boot after the game. He will undergo tests to determine the severity of the injury. “I couldn’t really tell you right now,” said Hosley. “A little something in there. I just need to get some more tests on it.”

• DE Adrian Tracy injured his hamstring and will undergo an MRI. “We don’t know how bad it is,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin after the game.

• LB Mark Herzlich suffered a hip pointer. Further tests are also likely. “We don’t know how bad it is,” said Coughlin.

• HB Ahmad Bradshaw injured his hand in the game. X-rays were negative and he said the injury was a popped cyst. “There’s no break and he’s got a swollen hand,” said Coughlin.

As for the game, both teams played their starters until halftime. The Giants’ first two drives ended with field goals as the starting offense only managed six points in the first half. After gaining 82 yards and six first downs on these two possessions, the Giants did not make another first down in their last three possessions of the half. QB Eli Manning finished 7-of-14 for 62 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Five of his completions went to WR Victor Cruz for 51 yards. The Giants’ running game struggled in the first half with only 19 yards gained on 15 carries (1.3 yards per carry average).

On the interception, Manning said, “It was kind of a throwaway. I didn’t want to throw it, just throw it over the head of the receiver, and try to get it more out of bounds than what happened. So, I didn’t want to throw it to the receiver. I just have to make it more obvious, and throw it out of bounds.”

Meanwhile, the Giants’ starting defense shutout the Jets, holding the Jets to four first downs in the half. Even better, Hosley intercepted QB Mark Sanchez and returned the pick for 77 yards and a touchdown that gave the Giants a 13-0 halftime advantage. Sanchez was also sacked three times in the first half, twice by DE Jason Pierre-Paul and a split sack by defensive ends Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora.

The second teamers of the Giants and Jets exchanged field goals on the opening drives of the second half. The big play on the Giants’ first possession was a 49-yard pass play from QB David Carr to WR Rueben Randle. The Giants added another field goal on their second drive of the the half to go up 19-3. Then after two three-and-outs, with just under seven minutes to play, QB Ryan Perrilloux found WR David Douglas for 23 yards and then RB Joe Martinek for 14 yards and a touchdown.

Meanwhile, the back-ups on the Giants basically shut down QB Tim Tebow and the Jets’ reserves except for the one field goal drive. After gaining five first downs and 68 yards on that possession, the Jets went three-and-out on their next four possessions, three of which lost yards. DE Adewale Ojomo had four tackles and two sacks. S Will Hill had three tackles and one sack. And DE Matt Broha chipped in with another sack.

In the end, the Giants only out-gained the Jets 12-10 in first downs, but had a 230-148 yard advantage in net yards. Neither team rushed the ball well, but the Jets were held to 83 net yards passing. The Giants sacked Jets’ quarterbacks seven times.