The 'Snoopy Bowl' was a snoozer. The New York Giants defeated the New York Jets, 26-3, Saturday at MetLife Stadium in a preseason game commonly referred to as the 'MetLife Bowl' between the stadium's co-tenants.
The Giants dominated a game in which neither offense played particularly well. The defending Super Bowl champs got four field goals, a 77-yard interception return for a touchdown by Jayron Hosley and a 14-yard pass from third-string quarterback Ryan Perrilloux to reserve fullback Joe Martinek for their scoring.
The Jets have failed to score a touchdown in their first two preseason games, totaling only nine points in loss to the Giants and the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Giants controlled the first half, taking a 13-0 lead. Tynes kicked field goals of 35 and 30 yards, and Hosley, a rookie cornerback, returned an interception of a Mark Sanchez pass for the only touchdown of the half.
Giants quarterback Eli Manning completed 7-of-14 passes for 62 yards with one interception while playing the entire first half. Manning could not get the Giants into the end zone, but put a positive spin on the first-half effort.
"I thought we had a couple good drives and moved the ball. We converted some third downs, had some opportunities, but didn't get in the end zone," Manning said. "Whenever you play the Jets, you're always going against a great defense. They do a lot of different things and throw a lot at you. I think we communicated well to handle that. There is definitely still a whole lot for us to work on, but we're making progress."
The Jets' first-team offense was ineffective, failing to score. Quarterback Mark Sanchez was 9-for-11, but had only 59 yards passing and threw the interception Hosley returned for a score. The Jets' quarterback was sacked three times during his half of work.
Sanchez said the Jets' offense was "a little sloppy" during an interview with Jets sideline reporter Otis Livingston. "We have to be better than that," Sanchez said.
Jets coach Rex Ryan was "disappointed" by the first-half offensive performance.
"I think initially, against the Giants, this is a team you have to stay ahead of the sticks on," Ryan said. "You have to get the placements (yard markers) back, it really hurts, they can really get after the quarterback. (I’m) definitely disappointed because we had some self-inflicted wounds. The defense is playing great, lights out, the whole defense is on. Again, it’s tough sledding in that situation, but you have to protect the football."
Tynes hit a 40-yard field goal early in the third quarter to stretch the Giants' lead to 16-0.
Tim Tebow took over at quarterback for the Jets to start the third quarter. He led the Jets to a field goal on his first drive, going 4-for-5 for 52 yards and running twice for 5 yards. Josh Brown's 30-yard kick provided the only points of the night for the Jets. Tebow ended up completing 5-of-14 passes for 69 yards.
In the fourth quarter, Tynes ended a 10-play, 53-yard drive by hitting a 45-yard field goal.
The Giants finally scored the first offensive touchdown of the night on 35-yard drive set up after the second of three consecutive poor punts by T.J. Conley of the Jets. Ryan Perrilloux hit David Douglas on a 23-yard completion, then found running back Joe Martinek in the flat for a 14-yard touchdown completion.
Victor Cruz of the Giants had five receptions for 51 yards. The Giants sacked Jets' quarterbacks seven times.
NOTES: X-rays came back negative on Giants' running back Ahmad Bradshaw, who left the game early with an apparent hand injury. Linebacker Mark Herzlich left the game with a hip pointer, and defensive end Adrian Tracy suffered a hamstring injury. The Jets were playing without wide receiver Santonio Holmes (ribs).
-- See more Giants coverage at Big Blue View. See Gang Green Nation for Jets coverage
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