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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. The New York Giants kicked off defense of their Super Bowl title by showing they could play great defense without Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora and that their offense could move the ball with Eli Manning.
What the Giants didn't show in a 16-7 win over the Washington Redskins that spoiled the coaching debut of Jim Zorn on Thursday night was that they are a dominating team.
Sure, they dominated the first half in scoring on their first four possessions to take a 16-0 lead, but they never put the Redskins and Zorn's West Coast offense away.
Washington scored late in the half to get within nine points, and they were a play away from making the kickoff to the NFL season a game throughout the second half.
"You can say we made a statement," said Giants halfback Brandon Jacobs, who ran for 116 yards on 21 carries. "But if we made a statement, I don't think we made enough of a statement. There are probably guys sitting around saying the Giants are pretty good and we can't lay down on them, but it should have been worse tonight. We left a lot of points out there."
The Giants got inside the Redskins 10 yard line on their first three possessions and twice had to settle for short field goals by John Carney, who kicked three in the game. Eli Manning capped a game-opening 84-yard drive that featured three big catches by Plaxico Burress (30, 19 and 11 yards) with a 1-yard touchdown run.
However, the offense failed to score touchdowns on its next three possessions, a fact that had Washington still in the game despite being outgained 246-16 late in the opening half.
The Redskins had only one first down at that point and it came on a roughing the punter penalty.
"Everybody thinks that we're the bottom fifth team in this division," Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said. "And I don't think we changed that tonight. I really don't."
Still, there were positives for the Giants, who stunned the NFL last season by playing their best football in the playoffs and capping it with a stunning win over the previously unbeaten New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
New York's defense led that win over Tom Brady and company in February, and Steve Spagnuolo's group showed it can be a force even with Strahan in retirement and fellow Pro Bowler Umenyiora sidelined for the year with a knee injury.
New York limited the new-look Redskins to 11 first downs and 209 total yards and gave indications that these Giants are back for another run despite the preseason predictions that there chances of repeating are slim.
"We played well and it's no surprise to us," defensive tackle Barry Cofield said. "We feel like we got capable guys and we held them for very few yards other than the two-minute situations, where the got most of their yardage. We are confident in our defense and feel like if we stick with the scheme we'll have success all year."
The win capped a fun-filled opening night for Giants fans, who saw the retired Strahan hold up the Lombardi Trophy just minutes before the opening kickoff.
Manning, Burress (10 catches for 133 yards) and Jacobs kept the crowd on its feet in ending a four-game losing streak at home. New York was 11-1 away from Giants Stadium last season, winning the final 11.
"It was a great opening to the season," said Manning, who completed 19 of 35 passes for 216 yards with an interception. "There was a lot of emotion, a lot of excitement. You could feel it in the crowd. It was great to see Michael holding the trophy."
Spagnuolo and his defense made sure the home woes came to an end. In the process he might have made Redskins owner Dan Synder think twice about trying harder to hire him.
Spagnuolo was a serious candidate to replace Joe Gibbs until backing out to stay with the Giants.
Zorn eventually got the job, but his offense did little against Spagnuolo's aggressive defense, which limited Washington to three of 13 third-down conversions.
Jason Campbell threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss with 13 seconds to play in the first half to account for the Redskins' points. The score was set up by a Giants special teams lapse, a 50-yard kickoff return by Rock Cartwright.
Washington only got in New York territory three times in the game, the last time in the final seconds.
"We just sputtered a lot, sputtered here, sputtered there," Moss said.
The only concern for the Giants was that defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka went down with an ankle injury on the final play.
The player who moved from linebacker to end after Umenyiora was lost for the season with a knee injury in the preseason said he was OK.
Otherwise, the game belonged to the Giants, who have been overlooked when it comes to their chances of repeating. Their odds were 25-1 heading into the game.
"We are not worried about what people are saying," middle linebacker Antonio Pierce said. "We are trying to win games. You have to get to the Super Bowl to repeat, and if we don't make the playoffs if won't matter. Right now our goal is to win the division. You win the division and the playoffs and then you think about repeating."<
Notes:@ There was only one turnover, an interception by Redskins cornerback Fred Smoot in the third quarter. ... Redskins middle linebacker London Fletcher had a game-high 17 tackles, 12 solo. ... Giants co-owner Steve Tisch was booed at halftime while making a donation to cancer. The fans are upset with the team's personal seat license plans for the new stadium to open in 2010. ...Redskins starting CB Shawn Springs was inactive because of a shin injury. ... DE Jason Taylor had two tackles in his Washington debut.
