Giants Win Snoozer 6-3: The best thing you can say about the Giants 6-3 win over the New England Patriots on Wednesday night at MetLife Stadium is that no one appears to have gotten seriously hurt and the Giants got some good practice reps. But the game was downright awful to watch. The Giants finished the preseason 2-2 and now get ready to face the Dallas Cowboys on September 5th.
Seventeen Giants (see below) did not play, including many key starters, especially on defense. However, the bulk of the Giants’ starting offense did play into the second quarter and struggled against the Patriots’ second-team defense. There were miscommunications in the Giants’ passing game and ineffectiveness in the running game.
The Giants only gained one first down and 27 yards on their first six possessions of the game. Each of these six drives ended with a punt. QB Eli Manning finished 4-of-8 for 29 yards. He and his receivers did not appear to be on the same page a few times. HB David Wilson was held to 13 yards on 8 carries.
Meanwhile, the Giants’ “starting” defense – minus the team’s top three defensive ends, two starting linebackers, and three of the team’s best cornerbacks – shutout the Patriots’ second-team offense in the first quarter. The Giants’ reserves did allow a 12-play, 51-yard drive in the second quarter that resulted in a 20-yard field goal by the Patriots. The Patriots were held to 111 total net yards in the first half.
At the half, the Patriots led 3-0.
New York’s best offensive drive of the game was their initial drive in the third quarter. Back-ups QB David Carr and HB Andre Brown led the Giants on a 13-play, 64-drive that ended with a 34-yard field goal by PK Lawrence Tynes to tie the game. The Giants also moved the ball well on their next possession, but were forced to punt after 11 plays and 54 yards. Their next two possessions went nowhere.
Defensively for the Giants, the Patriots were forced to punt the ball away on their first three possessions of the second half. A game that appeared to be heading to overtime changed in the Giants’ favor late in the fourth quarter when DE Adewale Ojomo sacked the Patriots’ reserve quarterback Brian Hoyer and forced a fumble that was recovered by DT Marcus Thomas, setting up the Giants at the Patriots’ 17-yard line. With just over a minute to play in the game, Tynes hit the 32-yard field goal to take the 6-3 lead.
The Patriots had one last chance to tie or win the game. They drove to the Giants’ 40-yard line, but CB Laron Scott intercepted Hoyer’s pass at the 1-yard line to end the game with 12 seconds left.
Head Coach Tom Coughlin’s Post-Game Press Conference: The video of Head Coach Tom Coughlin’s post-game press conference is available at Giants.com.
Post-Game Player Media Q&As: Video clips of post-game media sessions with the following players are available at Giants.com:
Post-Game Notes and Quotes: Seventeen players did not play against the Patriots on Wednesday night: HB Ahmad Bradshaw (hand), OG Chris Snee (leg), OT Will Beatty (back), OT James Brewer (back), DE Jason Pierre-Paul (back), DE Justin Tuck (shoulder), DE Osi Umenyiora (knee), DE Adrian Tracy (hamstring), DT Shaun Rogers (leg), DT Marvin Austin (back), LB Michael Boley (hamstring), LB Mathias Kiwanuka (groin), CB Prince Amukamara (ankle), CB Jayron Hosley (toe), CB Terrell Thomas (knee), CB Bruce Johnson (shoulder), and S Tyler Sash (ankle).
WR Hakeem Nicks did play and made one catch for six yards. “It felt real good to be out there for the first time this preseason,” Nicks said. “Went out there, got my feet wet, got a couple reps. It was exactly what I needed to know that I’ll be ready for next week. It was pretty much what I expected. No problem with the foot. It felt good, and I’ll be ready to start the season.”
LB Spencer Paysinger tweaked his ankle in the game but later returned.
Eric Kennedy
Eric Kennedy is Editor-in-Chief of BigBlueInteractive.com, a publication of Big Blue Interactive, LLC. Follow @BigBlueInteract on Twitter.
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