10/07 — Chad Pennington again threw a bad pass after throwing a number of excellent throws. After throwing a rope over the middle to Laveranues Coles for 15 yards on third-and-13, Pennington tries to find Jerricho Cotchery heading toward the end zone. But the throw is off target. Cotchery doesn't have a chance to catch it or to break it up. Instead, rookie CB Aaron Ross snags it for the pick and tries to hop into the end zone for the touchback.

Referee Bill Carollo rules the Giants will get the ball at their 2, but Big Blue coach Tom Coughlin, already 0-for-1 on a replay challenge, challenges again to say the call should be touchback. But on review, Ross' second foot also comes down in the field of play, so Coughlin loses another timeout.

The Jets let the Giants out of the shadow of their goalposts when Andre Dyson is called for illegal contact on Plaxico Burress. But it's still first-and-10 at the Giants 9. Brandon Jacobs goes down and leaves the game, but Derrick Ward still finds the hole he needs to convert third-and-1. Then LB David Harris, doing so much right in his young career, commits a costly foul when he horse-collars Derrick Ward. The 5-yard gain and 15-yard penalty moves the Giants to their 42.

Then Burress stiffs Dyson and the Jets. Eli Manning hits Burress on the left sideline at the Jets 47. The Giants' long-armed WR stiff-arms Dyson once at the 40, then again, then he's off down the sideline unchallenged for a deflating TD with just under eight minutes left, giving the Giants their first lead of the game at ...

Giants 28, Jets 24

Burress, who gains 47 of the 53 yards on the play after the catch, takes a bow to the crowd. Now it's up to the Jets and Pennington to answer, and there is no room for more mistakes/turnovers.

Another dynamic Leon Washington KOR and an 18-yard completion to Chris Baker looks very promising, but that's about where the drive stalls. Ben Graham's next drop punt results in another inside-the-20, with R.W. McQuarters fair-catching at the Giants 10. But the Jets are in a familiar position: losing, without the ball, and with time (6:34 to go) running out. They have all three timeouts.

The Jets hold as they bring seven pass rushers and Eli Manning's hurried throw for Shockey is batted down by Dyson. Leon Washington takes Jeff Feagles' strong 60-yard punt only to his 23. With 4:40 to go, the Jets now have a crucial offensive series, for this game and for their season, ahead of them.

Pennington scuffles on his first two downs but then steps up and does an incredible job of finding Brad Smith for the 17-yard completion on third-and-16.

But all that and all that had gone before was for naught when Pennington tries to deliver an out-pattern to Jerricho Cotchery that rookie Aaron Ross jumps his route and takes the pick 43 yards for the final-nail touchdown in this 11th renewal of the Jets-Giants rivalry. All three Giants interceptions of Pennington came on throws to Cotchery, who has four catches for 31 yards, long of 9, so far.

Giants 35, Jets 24

Pennington can't get anything generated — in fact, he gets taken down by Osi Umenyiora for the Giants' first sack of the game. His fourth-and-14 pass has no magic and no mustard on it, is batted down at the Jets 45, and this one is all but over. The Giants have it at the Jets 32 with 2:03 to play.

The Jets have opened at 1-4 for the fifth time since 1995. The only time they escaped that hole was 2002, but that required the New England Patriots to have the only off year during their four-year reign of championship-caliber football. That doesn't look likely to happen this year. Get ready for a lot of focusing on one game at a time because that's all the Jets can do from here.