NY Jets 17, NY Giants 10
By BARRY WILNER, AP Football Writer
August 27, 2004
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Eli Manning got his first dose of real NFL defensive schemes and it had to taste awful.
The top choice in the NFL draft in April, the Giants' quarterback struggled against the New York Jets in a 17-10 loss Friday night. It was the Jets' ninth successive win in the annual preseason series.
Usually, exhibition games feature vanilla defenses. But the Jets threw all kinds of defensive looks at the Giants, from both 4-3 and 3-4 alignments, with frequent safety blitzes and a nice mix of coverages. While Giants starting quarterback Kurt Warner handled them decently and led his team to a first-quarter touchdown on Ron Dayne's 9-yard run, Manning seemed befuddled.
"I never got in a groove,'' Manning admitted. "I made bad decisions, I made mental mistakes. I've got to learn from this and get better.''
Manning's first pass was intercepted by Donnie Abraham, who jumped in front of the rookie's intended receiver. Abraham also picked off Eli's brother, NFL co-MVP Peyton Manning, last week in Indianapolis. But Abraham left the game after bruising his knee.
"The first play, the flat wasn't open, I tried to force it in. I should have thrown the ball away,'' he said.
Manning also was intercepted by Reggie Tongue in the third quarter, missed badly on several other passes and never looked comfortable in going 4-for-14 for 20 yards with two interceptions, two sacks and a fumble. He played into the fourth quarter, but wasn't much better as even the Jets' backups were aggressive defensively. His performance could cost him in the Giants' QB derby, because Warner was 9-of-11 for 104 yards.
"It's always hard to watch somebody else struggle,'' Warner said. "You know he is trying to make the right decisions.''
In all, the Jets had five sacks, including John Abraham's in the second quarter on which Manning fumbled. After a scramble for the loose ball, safety Omare Lowe snared the ball and ran it in for a 27-yard touchdown and a 17-7 lead.
