Jets top Giants, 17-3

If only punches translated into points.

The inaugural MetLife Bowl didn't live up to the hype as far as the scoreboard was concerned. But tempers simmered just enough to sustain the bad blood between the rivals until their next meeting.

Fans who were forced to wait two days to witness the Jets-Giants preseason game because of Hurricane Irene were treated to a rather listless showing early on last night. But the 17-3 Jets victory contained enough glancing blows and muttered curse words to prolong the anticipation until Christmas Eve.

"That was a typical Jets-Giants slugfest," said Jets coach Rex Ryan, who beamed as he stood next to his team's reward, a bronze Snoopy trophy. Ryan also received a $40,000 check from the MetLife Foundation to the Jets' charity, the Trust for Public Land.

Said Ryan, "The fireworks will fly come Dec. 24."

Though the Giants had more total yards (327) than their opponents, the Jets (233) found their way into the end zone twice.

"We had some real chances and didn't finish anything offensively," Tom Coughlin said. "We have some work to do there, no doubt. We had some positives . . . but lots of yards and no points."

Eli Manning, who was sacked for a loss of 3 yards by cornerback Kyle Wilson to close out the first half, finished the game 15-for-30 for 200 yards but was picked off twice.

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez went 8-for-16 for only 64 yards and a touchdown.

There were 16 penalties for 125 yards, including two for unnecessary roughness and two disqualifications. Jets rookie Mo Wilkerson and Giants running back Brandon Jacobs were ejected for throwing punches after Manning threw a 7-yard pass to receiver Mario Manningham with 8:51 to go in the third quarter.

"That's not good football," Coughlin said, referring to Jacobs' involvement and an unnecessary-roughness penalty on safety Deon Grant. "You can't lose your cool."

Inconsistency plagued both sidelines as Sanchez and Manning struggled to find chemistry with their receivers in the third preseason game for each team. Both Ryan and Coughlin played the starters into the third quarter.

Plaxico Burress' hyped meeting against his former club was anticlimactic, as the wide receiver had zero catches. But his presence did help set up Santonio Holmes' 17-yard touchdown, which gave the Jets a 7-3 lead in the second quarter.

"You've got to honor Plax running out into the middle of the field at 6-6 -- and a guy that can play," Jets receiver Derrick Mason said. "He kind of opened it up for Santonio. Santonio ran a good route and Sanchez put it right where he needed to put it."

Holmes had two catches for 37 yards. Giants receiver Hakeem Nicks had five catches for 71 yards and Jacobs ran for 51 yards on 10 carries. Shonn Greene gained 42 yards on 11 carries to lead the Jets.

The Giants' opening drive ended with Jim Leonhard's interception after David Harris pressured Manning. But the Jets went three-and-out. With 10:21 to go in the second quarter, Harris intercepted Manning's pass intended for Ahmad Bradshaw and ran the ball up the Jets' sideline before stepping out of bounds. But again the Jets failed to capitalize.

On second-and-8 at the Giants' 37, Sanchez fumbled on a pump fake and Giants linebacker Clint Sintim jumped on it. The Giants settled for Rhys Lloyd's 34-yard field goal with 5:00 to go in the quarter.

Bilal Powell's 1-yard touchdown run with 12:18 remaining in the fourth capped a nine-play, 68-yard scoring drive for the Jets, who took a 14-3 lead. Nick Folk kicked a 33-yard field goal with 4:07 left.