Colts 20, New York Giants 12
FOURTH QUARTER UPDATE
The Colts were able to milk the final time off the clock with three kneels by Harnish.
On first down, Rayford had his second sack, his third of the preseason. On third down, Nassib could not connect and the Giants had to punt just ahead of the two-minute warning. Marshay Green returned the ball to midfield with 1:59 left.
Harnish scrambled under pressure on second down, and the Giants were flagged for a personal foul after the eight-yard gain. The penalty put the ball at New York 47. On third-and-10, Harnish hit Williams for short yardage, and McAfee punted out of bounds at the New York 12 with 2:58 remaining. The Giants used their time outs on the Colts possession.
New York was unable to move the ball. On third down, Rayford and Ricardo Mathews pressured Nassib. The Colts took over at their 32 with 4:19 left.
Starting at its 20, Indianapolis had a third-and-seven and Harnish teamed with Brazill for a first down. A penalty on the Giants for hands to the face gave the Colts another first down at their 36. The Colts were not able to convert on third down and McAfee punted 38 yards to the New York 18.
Ryan Nassib took over for the Giants. A pass interference penalty on Allen Chapman gave New York a first down. Nassib struck for 28 yards on a screen pass to Michael Cox to the Indianapolis 35. Nevis produced his second and the Colts' fifth sack following a New York penalty. Cox gained 20 more yards on a screen pass on second-and-24. The Colts held on third down, and Brown converted a 47-yard field goal to cut the score to 20-12 with 8:43 remaining.
Chandler Harnish entered the game with just more than 13 minutes left. A pass and two rushes failed to produce a first down. McAfee punted 53 yards and Cassius Vaughn made the immediate stop as the Giants started at their 25.
After one New York first down, the possession ended when Marshay Green sacked Carr after chasing the quarterback across the field. The Colts took over at their 23.
THIRD QUARTER UPDATE
The Colts failed on a third-and-short and McAfee ended the possession with a 46-yard punt. The Giants started the possession on their 27.
New York started its next possession at its 18 following a return tackle by LaVon Brazill. After moving for one first down, the Colts held in third-and-short when Caesar Rayford sacked Carr to end the possession. It was Rayford's second sack of the preseason. After a Williams punt return, the Colts started at their 29.
Indianapolis started at its 43 after the Giants penalty on the punt return. Kerwynn Williams had 19 rushing yards on the drive and it was concluded by a Brandon McManus 50-yard field goal that glanced off the left upright. The Colts took a 20-9 lead with 5:45 left in the period.
Carr opened the second half for New York. Drake Nevis sacked Carr to force a third down and under pressure Carr had a pass defended by Kavell Conner to force a punt.
Hasselbeck opened the second half. After a third-down conversion on a Delone Carter rush, Hasselbeck was sacked and the Colts were forced to punt. McAfee punted 59 yards to end the possession.
SECOND QUARTER UPDATE
David Carr replaced Manning and with many front-liners on both sides of the ball out, the Giants drove to the Indianapolis 12. New York's bench was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, and Brown nailed a 45-yard field goal to end the half. It was another red zone stop for Indianapolis. Colts 17, Giants 9.
Matt Hasselbeck started the possession for the Colts. Donald Brown accounted for 25 yards on three plays to start the drive. Hasselbeck kept for nine yards and the Colts gained another first down. After reaching the New York 29, Hasselbeck was intercepted under pressure, and the Giants returned the turnover to the Colts' 40.
The Giants narrowed the score to 17-6 by moving 62 yards in 15 plays. The drive started in two-minute mode to give New York front-liners situational work. Manning guided the Giants inside the Colts 20, and Darius Butler forced the Giants to attempt a fourth-down conversion with a solid third-down tackle. After the conversion, Bjoern Werner had a loss-tackle and the Giants were later forced into a 27-yard field goal by Brown. The drive took 5:35.
The Colts took a 17-3 lead on a smart 60-yard drive. Luck hit Wayne for six yards on the first play, and a 15-yard personal foul on Aaron Ross moved the Colts to the New York 39. Luck hit Hilton on an 18-yard completion to convert one third down, and his second one to Hilton was another third-down conversion for the score. It was a seven-play scoring drive as Hilton's second foot was just inside the field of play. The score came with 9:41 left in the period. Luck ended his evening with 21 plays on four possessions, leading scoring drives of 81 and 60 yards. He was nine-of-13 for 107 yards and two scores, hitting Wayne and Heyward-Bey three times and Hilton twice.
Erik Walden sacked Manning on the first play after a Brandon McManus touchback. The 13-yard loss doomed the possession and after a 54-yard punt and a four-yard return by T.Y. Hilton, the Colts started their first second-quarter possession at their 40.
FIRST QUARTER UPDATE
Starting from the New York 41, Ballard gained seven yards on two rushes, then Luck had a pass batted down. Adam Vinatieri nailed a 52-yard field goal with room to spare to close the first quarter.
Greg Toler picked off Manning on the third play of the drive playing in man coverage, and the Colts took over at the Giants' 41. The pass was intended for Nicks.
Indianapolis took its first lead by moving 81 yards in eight plays, seven via the pass. Luck teamed with Darrius Heyward-Bey on completions of 14, nine and seven yards, and he scrambled for 14 yards. The scoring play was a deflection off a Giants defender and Reggie Wayne tipped the batted ball to himself to complete a 28-yard scoring play. Luck hit five-of-seven passes on the drive.
The Giants moved to the Colts' seven on their second drive before the Colts held again. Josh Brown hit a 25-yard field goal to end a 42-yard drive. Manning had a 20-yard completion to Hakeem Nicks, but the Colts defense held on two rushes deep.
Two rushes by Vick Ballard lost three yards and Andrew Luck and Coby Fleener missed on a pass attempt to end the Colts' first possession. Pat McAfee punted 56 yards and after an 11-yard return, the Giants started at the Indianapolis 49.
The Giants moved from their 20 to the Colts' seven on the opening drive before losing the ball on downs. Two game-opening rushes gained four and 21 yards before a 39-yard pass interference penalty move the ball to the Colts' 16. A rush and an Eli Manning completion moved the ball to a fourth-and-one situation, and the Colts held on a sweep left three minutes into the game.
New York won the coin toss and received.
COLTS-GIANTS GAMES NOTES
The weather is overcast and the chance of rain is about 10-to-15 percent during the game. The wind is about six miles per hour.
COLTS WHO WILL NOT PLAY:
WR-Griff Whalen, DB-Teddy Williams, S-LaRon Landry, S-Joe Lefeged, S-John Boyett, RB-Ahmad Bradshaw, LB-Daniel Adongo, LB-Josh McNary, LB-Pat Angerer, LB-Mario Harvey, C/G-Khaled Holmes, G-Hugh Thornton, DT-Montori Hughes, TE-Dwayne Allen, DE-Fili Moala.
COLTS PRE-GAME NOTES:
The Colts and Giants have met 12 times in preseason play, with the Colts owning a 7-5 edge. The last preseason match-up was on August 11, 1984. It was the first game the Colts played in Indianapolis. There have been 299 since then counting preseason, regular season and the playoffs.
The preseason series has been waged in a number of neutral sites since the inception of play in 1953 – St. Louis, Minneapolis, Boston, Louisville, Dallas, New Haven, New York, Baltimore and Indianapolis.
Starters tonight are expected to play into the second quarter and perhaps until halftime. A targeted number of plays for Andrew Luck and the starting offense are 25-to-30. Last week, the starters were together for 10 snaps.
Former Colts QB-Curtis Painter is vying with David Carr for a roster spot behind Eli Manning.
LB-Bjoern Werner is returning to the area where he prepped at Salisbury (Conn.) High School after moving from Berlin and prior to attending Florida State.
This is the Colts' second-ever appearance in MetLife Stadium. Indianapolis dropped a 35-9 decision there last year to the New York Jets.
The Colts have won more road games (28, regular season and playoffs) in New York than in any other NFL city.
