08/25 — FIRST QUARTER

And the Jets are flying. After winning the toss, the Green & White get the opening kickoff, with Brad Smith the single returner and getting the return only to the Jets 21.

Then Chad Pennington fattened up his thin passer rating with a brilliant first play from scrimmage, spotting Leon Washington out of the backfield and turned loose down the right sideline. Pennington pumpfaked, then hit Washington in stride and the mighty mite shot the rapids in between LCB R.W. McQuarters and SS James Butler and took it the rest of the way to the house for a 79-yard TD play.

However, the extra point failed when holder Ben Graham took James Dearth snap slightly behind him and then had trouble getting the ball down for Mike Nugent, who kicked it into the line.

It is the Jets' first offensive touchdown vs. the Giants since the second quarter of the 2004 preseason game, snapping a drought of 10 quarters without an offensive TD.

Oh, and rookie Jacob Bender did start at LG. He blocked his man on the touchdown pass.

Jets 6, Giants 0

Darrelle Revis is in fact starting, but at LCB in place of Andre Dyson, with David Barrett opening at his familiar RCB position.

Barrett appears to be the guilty party when Eli Manning hits a wide-open David Tyree with a pass that he takes 56 yards, but Barrett actually is the victim of a pick play by known Jet-killer Amani Toomer, so the ball comes back and the Giants wind up punting. Brad Smith is also the returner for this punt as he was for the opening kickoff, taking the ball 12 yards to the Jets 35.

The Jets' next drive ends with a punt after DE Justin Tuck rips past Bender and sacks Pennington for a 12-yard loss.

The Giants catch the Jets defense with a nifty play. Manning gets off his throw in front of a blitzing Eric Barton, finding Toomer cutting across the field for 20 yards just before S Erik Coleman can get there.

Eric Hicks is in early at LE for Shaun Ellis, who's standing on the sidelines. Some said Hicks was done in Kansas City last year, but the 3-4 and the Mangini Jets — and maybe old Maryland teammate Barton — have given Hicks new life. Sione Pouha has also played early for Dewayne Robertson and Kenyon Coleman is at RE.

Now Ellis is back in on the four-man nickel rush. Revis is late on a tackle of WR Anthony Mix, then bounces off and Mix gets 3 more yards after the catch. But on the next play, third-and-6 against a three-man rush, Revis pays Mix back by getting to his ankles first and holding him to a 3-yard gain.

Then Lawrence Tynes, getting a 40-yard field goal try off just ahead of the nice edge rush from Manny Collins, is wide right, and the Jets' 6-0 lead holds with 4½ minutes left in the opening quarter.

The next drive is not a good one for the Green & White offense. FB Darian Barnes drops a pass from Pennington in the left flat, then gets run into by Leon Washington on a 2-yard cutback. Finally, DE Osi Umenyiora rips outside past T D'Brickashaw Ferguson for the second sack of Pennington in the first quarter. As a punctuation, Ben Graham punts a 35-yard wobbler out of bounds to the Giants 42.

Revis does a nice job on a swing pass, riding Toomer out of bounds. Apparently, this first-round kid can play. And Vilma breaks up a pass to rookie TE Michael Matthews and Bryan Thomas takes Brandon Jacobs down on a right sweep after 3 yards, giving the Giants a third-and-7 as the first quarter ends.