Boos Come Early for Giants in Preseason Loss to Ravens
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – With the exception of a knee injury to seven-time Pro Bowl tackle Jonathan Ogden, everything went right for the Baltimore Ravens in last night’s preseason finale against the Giants.
Kyle Boller threw a touchdown pass, Chris McAlister scored on an interception return, and new assistant coach Jim Fassel got to enjoy it all on the Ravens’ sideline with a decisive 27-17 win over the Giants. The game was Fassel’s first here since being fired by the Giants after a 4-12 campaign last season, and it must have seemed like old times.
The Giants, who lost their last eight games in 2003, played poorly and the fans were booing the team and new coach Tom Coughlin by halftime.
The big concern for the Ravens (3-1) was Ogden. He was hurt with 2:57 left in the first quarter when a couple of players fell on him while he was on the ground at the end of a sweep. After limping off the field with a little help, he was diagnosed with a sprained left knee and did not return.
The Giants (1-3) have bigger concerns heading into their opener at Philadelphia a week from Sunday.
New York trailed 24-3 at the half and its only touchdowns, a 27-yard run by Chris Douglas and a 42-yard pass from Jesse Palmer to Jamaar Taylor, came against the Ravens’ backups. Boller and Kordell Stewart appear to have benefited from Fassel’s guidance, combining to hit 14 of 15 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown in the first half.
The 3-yard TD pass to Kevin Johnson, which gave the Ravens a 7-3 lead, came one play after Ogden was hurt.
While Ogden was being examined, the Ravens’ defense scored. On a third-and-9 from the Giants 14, McAlister stepped in front of Kurt Warner’s pass to Amani Toomer along the left sideline and returned it 23 yards for a 14-3 lead.
Stewart took over at the start of the second quarter and hit all eight of his passes for 102 yards. He hit five in a 72-yard drive that ended with Matt Stover kicking a 29-yard field goal. After Warner was sacked on a fourth-and-4 at the Ravens 41, Stewart hit Randy Hymes on passes of nine, nine, and 32 yards on consecutive plays in setting up Musa Smith’s 6-yard touchdown run with 1:50 left in the half.
The Giants’ only bright moment in the first half came on their opening series, when Warner completed a 49-yard pass to Tim Carter to set up a 24-yard field goal by Todd France. Warner finished 7-of-9 for 79 yards. Eli Manning, the no. 1 pick overall, was 4-for-7 for 99 yards.