New York Jets 12 – New York Giants 7

Reggie Ragland – © USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK JETS 12 – NEW YORK GIANTS 7…
In a game that the New York Giants treated more like a gloried scrimmage, the New York Jets won 12-7 in the preseason opener for both franchises on Saturday evening at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Aside from the offensive line, the Giants sat most of their starters and the bulk of the game was played by third teamers.

The Giants back-ups on defense did a decent job against the Jets’ first-team offense, which played into the beginning of the second quarter. While the Jets out-gained the Giants in first-half yardage 177 to 101, the Jets only led 3-0 at the half.  Those points came on the Jets’ first offense possession of the game, as they drove 52 yards in 12 plays to set up a 30-yard field goal.

The defensive highlight for the Giants in the first half was defensive linemen Danny Shelton and B.J. Hill stuffing the Jets on 4th-and-1 at the Giants’ 42-yard line early in the second quarter. The Giants’ biggest offensive play of the first half was a 37-yard pass from quarterback Clayton Thorson to wide receiver David Sills. The Giants also had one first-half drive end inside the 10-yard line when running back Corey Clement fumbled the ball away at the Jets’ 3-yard line. Nevertheless, the Giants were held to only eight first downs in the first half, gaining 58 yards on the ground and only 43 through the air.

The Jets went up 10-0 on their second drive in the 3rd quarter, moving the ball 68 yards in 11 plays, culminating with a 4-yard touchdown run. The two offensive highlights for the Giants in the second half were a 48-yard run by running back Sandro Platzgummer and a 21-yard touchdown pass from Thorson to wide receiver Damion Willis, cutting the score to 10-7. The later was set up by a fumble forced by linebacker T.J. Brunson and recovered by cornerback Rodarius Williams.

But any notion of a late-game comeback was snuffed out when Thorson was sacked in the end zone for a safety with less than two minutes to play.

Quarterback Mike Glennon only completed 3-of-7 passes for 20 yards with Thorson completing 5-of-16 passes for 72 yards. The Giants did rush for 105 yards, with Platzgummer and Clement accruing 83 of those yards on nine carries. The leading receiver was Sills (3 catches for 49 yards).

Defensively, linebacker Carter Coughlin had the team’s only sack. Brunson forced a fumble that Rodarius Williams recovered.

Video highlights are available at Giants.com.

INJURY REPORT AND HEALTHY SCRATCHES…
RB Saquon Barkley (knee), RB Gary Brightwell (unknown), WR Kenny Golladay (hamstring), WR Kadarius Toney (unknown), WR John Ross (hamstring?), WR Austin Mack (hamstring), TE Kyle Rudolph (PUP – foot), OG Shane Lemieux (knee), OC Jonotthan Harrison (unknown), LB Lorenzo Carter (calf), LB Elerson Smith (hamstring), CB Aaron Robinson (PUP – core muscle), CB Sam Beal (unknown), CB Jarren Williams (unknown), and S Chris Milton (unknown) did not play.

Regarding Toney, Head Coach Joe Judge said after the game, “I’m not gonna disclose any person’s individual injury at this moment, but we hope to get him out there this week… You know, he’s been dealing with it for a little bit. Something was aggravated in practice towards the tail end of this week, so he was unable to play tonight.”

OG Kyle Murphy left the game late in the first half with an ankle injury and did not return. TE Cole Hikutini left the game in the second half with a hip injury and did not return. LB T.J. Brunson injured his knee late in the game and did not return. QB Clayton Thorson was injured on the play where he was sacked for a safety late in the game.

Others who did not play include QB Daniel Jones, WR Sterling Shepard, TE Evan Engram, OT Nate Solder, OL Ted Larsen, DE Leonard Williams, DE Dexter Lawrence, LB Blake Martinez, LB Oshane Ximines, LB Ryan Anderson, CB James Bradberry, CB Adoree’ Jackson, S Jabrill Peppers, S Logan Ryan, S Xavier McKinney, S Montre Hartage, and PK Graham Gano,

POST-GAME REACTION…
Transcripts and video clips of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Joe Judge and the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

• Head Coach Joe Judge (Video)
• QB Mike Glennon (Video )
• WR David Sills (Video)
• OG Kenny Wiggins (Video)
• LB Carter Coughlin (Video)

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Head Coach Joe Judge and select players will address the media on Sunday.