Highlights were hard to find for the Giants offense against the Jets on Saturday night, but one came on a four-yard gain in the third quarter.
That was Victor Cruz’s first catch since tearing his patellar tendon early in the 2014 season and even a modest gain represents a big step forward for a player who went on to miss all of last season with a calf injury. Cruz then missed the first two games of this summer with a groin injury before finally connecting with Eli Manning for the first time in a long time.
“It felt like old times,” Cruz said, via the New York Post. “I caught the ball in the flat and tried to make something happen, but I got to feel a little bit of contact, which was a great feeling. Just to come out here healthy and be in the position to make some plays and catch the football and just come out and feel healthy and feel good about myself.”
Cruz was targeted one other time on a pass that was nearly intercepted by Jets safety Marcus Gilchrist. Manning was intercepted by Darrelle Revis on a play that saw Odell Beckham pull up to avoid a hit from safety Calvin Pryor. Manning called it the right move to avoid possible injury in a preseason game and blamed himself for leading Beckham into it.
The pick was part of a dismal outing overall for the Giants starters. The Giants failed to move into enemy territory until backups were in the game in the third quarter, leaving several members of the team talking about having work to do heading into the regular season. That Cruz will be part of that work is one positive to take away from Saturday night.
