The battle of MetLife Stadium ended with the New York Giants earning a 32-31 win over the New York Jets.Although the Jets overcame a 29-3 halftime deficit to nearly pull evenwith Bryce Petty easily outplaying Christian Hackenberga failed two-point conversion with 86 seconds remaining cost them the chance at victory.The Giants clearly had the better starters in the preseason Week 3 dress rehearsal, but the backups barely held on for bragging rights over the inner-city rivals.Eli Manning wasn't as sharp without his top two targets in Odell Beckham and Brandon Marshall, finishing 7-of-14 for 121 yards with an interception. Still, he left with his team up 19-0, and the coaching staff is well aware of what the veteran is capable of with a full complement of receivers.Conversely, the big story for the Jets was the quarterback play, even with presumed starter Josh McCown not playing in the game. Rich Cimini of ESPN.com described the situation:Hackenberg got the start and was about as bad as feared, with his offense doing more to put points on the board for the Giants than his own team:A safety and two interceptions returned for touchdowns carried the Giants to a 29-3 lead at halftime.The reaction from a Jets perspective wasn't pretty:Hackenberg finished 12-of-21 for 126 yards, plus one touchdown and two interceptions, although more than half of his yards came against the end-of-the-roster members of the Giants defense. He had just 60 passing yards at halftime.Things went much smoother for Petty, who went 15-of-18 for 250 yards, three touchdowns and a perfect 158.3 passer rating.While a substantial portion of his reps came against the Giants reserves, he showed good poise in the pocket in spreading the ball around to his teammates. Bilal Powell was also a major contributor:Powell was the most impressive skill-position player on either team, totaling 142 yards from scrimmage.Of course, Petty made impressive plays of his own:Unfortunately, the quarterback appeared to suffer a leg injury in the fourth quarter, forcing Hackenberg back onto the field for the final two minutes. Hackenberg did his part in the comeback attempt with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Frankie Hammond, but running back Elijah McGuire came up short on his run for the two-point conversion.Hackenberg finished better than he started, but the second-year quarterback still leaves a lot to be desired.Meanwhile, the Giants backups struggled on both sides of the ball while allowing the Jets to get back in the game. Geno Smith failed to do much against his former team, and few others really stood out. Travis Rudolph and Wayne Gallman led the Giants in receiving and rushing yards, respectively, but they still have work to do to solidify their roles on the team.Both teams will now close their preseasons Thursday, with the Giants taking on the New England Patriots and the Jets hosting the Philadelphia Eagles. However, most starters will rest up for Week 1 of the regular season in two weeks.
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