Game Notes, Giants vs. Jets

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Notes, anecdotes and statistics from the Giants’ 35-24 victory over the Jets.

*The Giants won their third consecutive game to improve to 3-2.

*The Giants trailed at halftime, 17-7 and in the third quarter, 24-14. It was the second time in three weeks they overcame a double-digit deficit to win. On Sept. 23 in Washington, the Giants trailed at halftime, 17-3, but won, 24-17.

*The Giants won their fourth consecutive game against the Jets and lead the regular season series, 7-4. They have not lost to the Jets since 1993.

*The Giants rushed for a season-high 188 yards. Their previous high total was 124 yards at Dallas on Sept. 9.

*The Giants did not allow a sack for the first time since Nov. 26, 2006 at Tennessee.

*The Jets rushed for only 55 yards, the lowest total by a Giants opponent since Carolina ran for 45 yards last Dec. 10 in Charlotte.

*The Giants defense allowed only one touchdown (the Jets also scored on a fumble return and a kickoff return). The defense has allowed only one touchdown in the last 10 quarters of play. The Jets’ only offensive touchdown came on a 16-yard pass from Chad Pennington to Brad Smith with 33 seconds remaining in the first half. It was the first offensive touchdown allowed by the Giants in 127:22. The Giants defense did not surrender a touchdown in 22 consecutive possessions.

*The Jets’ touchdown drive covered 93 yards. It was the longest drive against the Giants’ defense since Washington scored on a 93-yard drive on Dec. 5, 2004.

*The Giants scored their final touchdown on a 98-yard drive. It was the most territory they covered on the way to a touchdown since Jan. 6, 2002, when they had a 99-yard scoring drive vs. Green Bay.

*The victory was the 100th of Tom Coughlin’s career, including postseason games. In his 12 seasons as a head coach, Coughlin has 96 regular season wins and four postseason triumphs. Coughlin is the 36th coach in NFL history with 100 victories (including postseason games).

*Aaron Ross, the Giants’ first-round draft choice, did not play in the first half because he was disciplined after violating an undisclosed team rule. But Ross twice intercepted Chad Pennington in the fourth quarter, his first two NFL picks. The first was at the goal line. It might have prevented a Jets touchdown and led to the Giants’ go-ahead score. Ross returned the second interception 43 yards for a touchdown for the Giants’ final points with 3:15 remaining.

It was Giants’ first touchdown on an interception return since Oct. 23, 2006, when Kevin Dockery – who was also a rookie – picked off a Tony Romo pass in Dallas and returned it 96 yards for a score. Ross is the first Giant with two interceptions in a game since Gibril Wilson had two at Carolina on Dec. 10, 2006.

*Sam Madison’s second-quarter interception of a Pennington pass was his first of the season, his third as a Giant and the 34th of his 11-year career. That ties Madison with Kansas City’s Patrick Surtain, for sixth among active players.

*One week after their record-setting 12-sack performance vs. Philadelphia, the Giants sacked Pennington just once. Osi Umenyiora got his seventh sack in two weeks by dropping Pennington for a four-yard loss with just under three minutes remaining.

*At halftime, quarterback Eli Manning had a 0.0 rating after completing only three of 10 passes for 22 yards and an interception. He rebounded to finish with 13 completions in 25 attempts for 186 yards and two scores. His rating of 86.4 was his second-highest of the season. Manning had a 113.1 rating in the season opener at Dallas.

*Plaxico Burress did not catch a pass in the first half, but finished with five receptions for 124 yards, including the game-winning 53-yard touchdown. Burress has scored at least one touchdown in every game this season. He has seven scores this season, just three fewer than he had in the entire 2006 season.

The 100-yard game was his second of the season (he had 144 yards at Dallas), his eighth as Giant and the 20th of his career. The Giants are 5-3 when he has at least 100 receiving yards.

*Jeremy Shockey scored his first touchdown of the season on a 13-yard pass from Manning late in the third quarter. It was Shockey’s first touchdown since Dec. 10, 2006 at Carolina.

*Amani Toomer did not catch a pass for the first time since Dec. 31, 2005 at Oakland. Toomer’s team-record streak of catching at least one pass in a team-record 98 consecutive games (plus four postseason games) ended on Sept. 11, 2005 vs. Arizona.

*Brandon Jacobs returned to action after missing three-plus games with a knee injury and rushed for 100 yards on 20 carries, including a 19-yard touchdown. It was the first 100-yard game of his career. Jacobs became the first Giant other than Tiki Barber to rush for 100 yards since Ron Dayne ran for 111 yards against New Orleans on Sept. 30, 2001. Barber had had the Giants’ previous 37 100-yard rushing games (including on in the postseason).

*Derrick Ward’s eight-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was the first rushing touchdown of his four-year career.

*Jets cornerback Kerry Rhodes scored the game’s first touchdown on an 11-yard return of a Brandon Jacobs fumble with 8:36 remaining in the first quarter. It was the first fumble return for a touchdown by a Giants opponent since Oct. 12, 2003, when New England’s Matt Chatham brought one back 38 yards for a score in the Patriots’ 17-6 victory in Foxboro.

*Leon Washington scored on a 98-yard kickoff return early in the third quarter, the first such touchdown allowed by the Giants since Nov. 13, 2005, when Minnesota’s Marcus Robinson scored on an 86-yard kickoff return.

*Because the Giants opened the game in a sub defense, tackles Fred Robbins and Barry Cofield did not start. It was the first time Robbins did not start a regular season game since Dec. 11, 2005 at Philadelphia and it was the first non-start of Cofield’s 22-game career (including one postseason games).

*The Giants did not surrender an opening-possession touchdown for the 19th consecutive regular season game.

*Tom Coughlin lost two replay challenges, one in each half.

Midway through the second quarter, Pennington threw a pass up the right sideline that Laveranues Coles caught just in front of the Giants’ bench area. Coles landed out of bounds, but the officials ruled that he did so because Corey Webster and Gibril Wilson forced him out. Coughlin challenged the ruling of a force out, claiming Coles simply landed out of bounds. After review, referee Bill Carollo upheld the call on the field.

On Ross’ first interception, his momentum seemed to take him into the end zone. But the officials spot the ball at the two, saying he had both feet in the field of play. Coughlin challenged, claiming it should have been a touchback. But Carollo again upheld the call on the field.

Coughlin is 1-2 this season and 12-19 in four years with the Giants on replay challenges.

*The Giants’ honorary captain was former linebacker Jessie Armstead, a five-time Pro Bowler. Today marked the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so Armstead was accompanied for the coin toss by Marianne Vogt, a breast cancer survivor and a long time Giants employee who represented cancer survivors.

*The Giants’ inactive players were wide receiver Steve Smith (shoulder), running back Ahmad Bradshaw, safety Craig Dahl, offensive linemen Adam Koets and Kevin Boothe and defensive linemen Manny Wright and Dave Tollefson. The third quarterback was Jared Lorenzen.

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