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.
PHOTO: AP
The Jets threw all kinds of defensive looks at the Giants, but while 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.
Manning's first pass was intercepted by Donnie Abraham and he was also intercepted by Reggie Tongue in the third quarter. He went 4-for-14 for 20 yards with two interceptions, two sacks and a fumble. Warner was 9-of-11 for 104 yards.
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.
Doug Brien's 23-yard field goal got the Jets going, and Curtis Martin sparked an 80-yard touchdown drive. Martin had gains of 11 and 10 yards before Chad Pennington found Matt Dominguez on a crossing pattern for a 15-yard score and a 10-7 lead.
Jaguars 9, Packers 7
In Jacksonville, Josh Scobee's confidence grew with every kick. So did his chances of becoming the Jacksonville's kicker.
The rookie took advantage of an opportunity to prove he can be the answer to the Jaguars' kicking woes, booting three field goals to account for all of Jacksonville's points.
Scobee, a fifth-round draft pick from Louisiana Tech, missed three of four field goal attempts in his first two preseason games, but was perfect on tries of 23, 32 and 43 yards against the Packers.
Brett Favre played a half for Green Bay (1-2), throwing a 52-yard touchdown pass to Robert Ferguson in the second quarter.
Favre completed 9-of-14 passes for 127 yards and was intercepted twice before being replaced by Pederson at the start of the third quarter. Tim Couch, who missed practice earlier in the week with a sore arm, did not play.
Byron Leftwich went 13-of-21 for 117 yards for Jacksonville (2-1), but the Jaguars' first-team offense has yet to produce a TD in three games.
Green Bay's Pro Bowl running back, Ahman Green, bruised his kneecap in the second quarter, but was able to walk to the sideline.
Donovin Darius and Rashean Mathis grabbed the Jaguars' interceptions.
Rams 28, Redskins 3
In St. Louis, Torry Holt's 7-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter was the first in three games this preseason for the Rams' starting offense.
The breakthrough prompted a hip-gyrating dance from Holt that satisfied a restless crowd and helped St. Louis roll past Washington.
Steven Jackson had 125 yards on 25 carries for the Rams (1-2), including a 5-yard TD run on the Rams' first possession of the third quarter.
Vikings 23, 49ers 10
In Minneapolis, Daunte Culpepper went 20-for-27 for 204 yards and a touchdown, and Minnesota needed help from its reserves to deal San Francisco its third straight exhibition loss.
The Vikings outgained San Francisco 326-61 in total yards in the first half and took a 16-0 lead into halftime before allowing the 49ers to slowly close the gap.
Saints 17, Bears 13
In Chicago, third-team quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan set up his own go-ahead touchdown run with a long pass to lift New Orleans.
The sloppy game at Soldier Field took 3 1/2 hours to play and featured 30 penalties, with 18 of them on the Bears (2-1).
Broncos 31, Texans 17
In Denver, Jake Plummer threw for 159 yards, ran for score and led Denver's top unit to its first two touchdowns of the preseason.
Denver did its best to answer questions about its struggling first-team offense, scoring on drives of 68 and 85 yards after managing just four field goals the first three preseason games. Plummer finished 12-for-22 with an interception, Triandos Luke caught a 74-yard touchdown pass and Quentin Griffin had 54 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
Seahawks 26, Chargers 20
In San Diego, the Philip Rivers era in San Diego got off to a rousing start. It didn't last long.
Rivers, the fourth overall pick in this year's NFL draft who ended his holdout earlier this week, completed his first three passes for 72 yards, drawing loud cheers from the crowd of 35,536 at Qualcomm Stadium.
Rivers, the second-leading passer in NCAA history at North Carolina State, wound up going 5-of-14 for 79 yards with the two interceptions.
Matt Hasselbeck completed 18 of 28 passes for 190 yards and one touchdown, and Shaun Alexander gained 62 yards on 15 carries to lead the Seahawks (2-1).
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