Giants know Jets' defense a big challenge

Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka was asked to consider the biggest challenge the Jets' defense will present Sunday at MetLife Stadium.   

“I’d say really at all three levels, they’re very talented,” Kafka said. “They have great team speed, they’re aggressive and these guys do a good job of tackling the football, so we’ll have to have a good week of prep."

Tyrod Taylor started the preseason game against the Jets. 

That was during the time the Jets were filming "Hard Knocks." The cameras caught Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner surprised, to say the least, that Taylor threw a pass to rookie Jalin Hyatt with Gardner in coverage. 

Taylor is likely to start Sunday's game. 

Asked if there was any intent back then to send a message to the Jets with that play call, Kafka said: “I wouldn’t say so. I’d just say it was just one of the parts of the game plan that we thought we could use in our game plan and something that we wanted to look at and see in an NFL preseason game."  

The Giants are coming off their second win of the season.   

"Last week was last week," Kafka said. "I thought we did a nice job, we were able to get the ‘W’ but that’s in the past. This week’s a new week, we’ve got to put together a good week of practice.”   

The Giants still find themselves in the NFC East cellar.  

Taylor knows taking care of the football will be key against a Jets team that thrives on forcing turnovers. They are tied for third in the NFL with 13 takeaways. 

"Protecting the ball is where it starts," Taylor said. "If you do that, you give yourself a chance to win." 

Jones update

Quarterback Daniel Jones continued to work on the practice field, but again did not participate in team drills. Jones could miss his third consecutive game with a neck injury he suffered Oct. 8 in Miami.

Extra points

Dexter Lawrence received a rest day.  The only other Giant who did not practice was running back Gary Brightwell (hamstring). Wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson (knee) was added to the injury list as a limited practice participant. Kicker Graham Gano (left knee) was upgraded to a full participant. 

The other players who were limited were Jones (neck), running back Saquon Barkley (elbow), tight end Darren Waller (hamstring), tackles Andrew Thomas (hamstring) and Evan Neal (ankle), center John Michael Schmitz (shoulder), linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux (knee) and cornerback Adoree’ Jackson (neck). 

By Kimberly Jones

kimberly.jones@newsday.comkimjonessports

Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.