Disrespected Giants now can talk proudly

One by one, they repeated the words of coach Tom Coughlin.

Talk is cheap.

But in the midst of their politically correct postgame comments, the Giants couldn't help but fire final warning shots of their own. Their defense had sent a message to Rex Ryan. And for now, the "best team in New York" debate can be put to rest.

For weeks, Eli Manning's offense had shouldered the load, carrying the Giants to one fourth-quarter comeback after another. At times, safety Kenny Phillips admitted the Giants' defense has been "a burden."

But behind a resurgent Justin Tuck, key sacks by Jason Pierre-Paul and an interception by Phillips, the Giants defeated the Jets, 29-14, at MetLife Stadium on Saturday.

The impetus for their inspired effort? All that chirping from Florham Park.

"[We felt] very disrespected," said Phillips, who intercepted a pass by Mark Sanchez intended for Jeremy Kerley and returned it 31 yards to the Jets' 14 on the first play of the fourth quarter, setting up a field goal for a 20-7 lead. "They were saying, especially in our secondary, we can't do this, we can't do that. But I think we went out and proved that we're capable of playing great ball.

SEE PHOTOSJets vs. Giants: The war of words 2011

" . . . Everything they said we couldn't do, we did it. So it's a great win."

Santonio Holmes helped stoke the fire after he said of the Giants' secondary: "They're poor-tackling guys. We know plays can be made over their heads."

Those big plays downfield never came for the Jets, even with the help of the officiating. Three times the Jets challenged officiating calls in the second half -- twice on fumbles by Sanchez and once on a fumble by Kerley -- and all three plays were reversed.

Sanchez's 1-yard touchdown run pulled the Jets to within 20-14 with 7:17 left in the game. But the quarterback later was sacked in the end zone by Chris Canty for a safety before Ahmad Bradshaw put the game out of reach with a 19-yard touchdown run after the onside free kick.

"You have to try to be as professional as possible, but I think in the back of guys' minds, we hear what they're saying," Canty said of the war of words. "We're not fond of doing all that talking. All that talking, like Coach said, it's cheap. It doesn't mean anything. Your performance on the field is what's going to speak volumes of your team. And I think we were able to do that.

"They've got to be quiet as far as 'whose stadium it is' and all that other crap and garbage. Look. We came in here, they wanted to make a big deal about that, but at the end of the day, we won this football game, we have an opportunity to advance in the playoffs, so we're looking forward to that."

Defensive end Dave Tollefson said the effort from the front seven, and specifically Tuck, always has been there. "It was just a matter of the cards falling our way," he said. "We got the dogs in the kennel. We just got to let them loose every once in a while. And they got loose today."

Pierre-Paul finished with four tackles and two sacks, but he and the rest of the defense were most impressed by Tuck's performance.

"You can't keep a good guy down for long," Phillips said of their defensive captain, who had four tackles and a sack. "He came out, he played well. He was a little banged up but he still played through it. That's why he's our leader."

Cornerbacks Aaron Ross and Corey Webster, who picked off Sanchez with less than a minute left in the game, held their own against the Jets' receivers. Holmes and Plaxico Burress totaled 84 yards on seven catches but had no touchdowns.

Said Mathias Kiwanuka: "Talk all you want all day long, but after school, when that bell sounds, you got to be ready to fight."