/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47012462/usa-today-8761527.0.jpg)
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars, 22-12, in preseason action Saturday night at MetLife Stadium. Here are a few of the notable things from Saturday's action.
TC in challenging mood
Giants' coach Tom Coughlin was serious about trying to win Saturday's game, challenging twice and winning both in the first half.
Coughlin challenged a play ruled an incomplete pass to Larry Donnell on 3rd-and-10 on the Giants' first possession. He won that challenge, the Giants got a 13-yard gain and kept the ball. Maybe Coughlin just wanted to see if he could get some info on what is/is not going to be ruled a catch. The Giants couldn't turn it anything as Eli Manning tossed three straight incompletions after that.
Coughlin later got the Giants a turnover, challenging a play originally ruled a Blake Bortles incompletion when he was hit while attempting to throw by J.T. Thomas. The ruling was overturned, with the Giants recovering the ball at the Jacksonville 30-yard line. That led to a 43-yard Brown field goal.
Speaking of old guys
Tom Coughlin is an old guy. So is Giants' placekicker Josh Brown, but don't tell him. Brown, 36, went 5-for-5. He had first-half field goals of 51, 43, and 53 yards, then a couple of second-half chip shots from 37 and 28 yards.
Eli's night was ugly
Quarterback Eli Manning played four series, completing just 4-of-14 passes for 46 yards, an unsightly completion percentage of 29 percent. The Giants got just a 51-yard field goal while Manning was in the game.
The offensive line held up well in front of Manning, he and Odell Beckham Jr. simply misfired on several pass attempts. Manning also had a couple of passes batted down at the line.
"We've got to be better in the passing game, obviously. Too many incompletions," Manning said. "I thought we got into a decent rhythm, had some third down conversions, some third-and-long conversions with some different guys. Had some nice plays, just had a couple bad throws by me, a couple drops, just some things we've got to clean up and start executing and making the plays that are out there that we were close to making tonight."
Right side roulette
The Giants wanted to see offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz play, and Schwartz played extensively. The Giants atrted with John Jerry at right guard and Marshall Newhouse at right tackle. Schwartz rotated with both players, seeing time at both right guard and right tackle. In the second half, Schwartz opened at guard with Jerry at tackle.
How did they do? All three appeared to play OK. Newhouse surrendered a sack, but otherwise played well during the first half.
Wide receiver competition
We were wondering which wide receivers would step up in the competition for reserve spots on the roster. Well, several guys did.
- Veteran James Jones caught five passes for 83 yards, 16.6 yards per catch.
- Rookie Geremy Davis had four catches for 43 yards.
- Dwayne Harris caught an 8-yard touchdown pas, and had two receptions for 35 yards.
- Corey Washington had two catches for 17 yards, both on the Giants' fourth-quarter touchdown drive.
Snakebit at safety
The Giants lost rookie safety Mykkele Thompson to a torn Achilles tendon in the first preseason game. They were playing Saturday without Nat Berhe (calf), Landon Collins (knee) and Cooper Taylor (toe). The, Justin Currie suffered a fractured ankle while covering a kickoff in the first half on Saturday.That appeared to be the worst of the injuries the Giants suffered.
Quotable
"I think we improved a little bit tonght. Nothing earth-shaking, but we did get a little bit better. We're going to have to get a lot better."
-- Coughlin