FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — At long last, the preseason is in the rear-view mirror for Eli Manning and the Giants, a player and a team that need to move away from these summer practice games and get onto the real thing.
Just as he said he would, Tom Coughlin Thursday night used his starters on offense and defense in the first quarter — and his first-string offensive linemen played into the second quarter of a 12-9 victory over the Patriots at Gillette Stadium. But Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. were held out entirely, as Coughlin was unwilling to risk a strain or a pull or a hangnail to either of his key players.