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Manning leads Plax-less Giants in rout of Seahawks

Oct 5, 2008 - 10:12 PM EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Eli Manning and the New York Giants turned in another dominant performance - even without Plaxico Burress.

Manning threw two touchdown passes and Brandon Jacobs scored on a pair of short runs Sunday as the Giants came off their bye week with a thorough 44-6 thrashing of the Seattle Seahawks.

"I think the players prepared very well," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "The coaches did an excellent job of preparing the players. They were excited about this game and this team, and it is a good Seattle team. I am not backing off of that statement."

Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren did not assess his team the same way, especially after Seattle saw the Giants post their largest margin of victory in a regular-season game since 1972.

"That was what we call a good old-fashioned you-know-what," Holmgren said. "I believe we're a better football team than that, but give the Giants credit. They really took it to us today."

The defending Super Bowl champs improved to 4-0 despite not having Burress, New York's top wide receiver and Manning's favorite target for the past three-plus seasons.

The Giants are off to their best start since the 1990 season, when they won their first nine games en route to a 13-3 record and the franchise's second Super Bowl championship.

Burress was serving a one-game suspension for skipping a practice last week and not informing the team. Coughlin, who has been quiet regarding the details behind Burress' suspension, did not want to focus on the star wideout.

"We are just talking about today and winning the game," Coughlin said. "A bunch of guys were playing as a team and realizing the idea and the concept of team."

The absence of Burress was not a problem for Manning, who completed 19-of-25 attempts for 267 yards and hooked up with eight different receivers.

"We just felt, honestly, it would be good to have Plaxico back," Manning said. "But the guys we had out there, we could rotate them in."

In particular, Manning seemed to have a rhythm with Domenik Hixon, Burress' replacement in the starting lineup.

New York took the lead for good on its fourth play from scrimmage when Manning found Hixon for a 32-yard scoring strike to open the scoring 3 1/2 minutes into the game.

"I ran a double move, and Eli put it where only I could catch it," Hixon said. "It was great timing on our part. Seattle is a pretty tough defense, but we went out there today and executed very well."

Hixon, used primarily as a kick returner last season before earning a roster spot as a receiver in training camp, suffered a mild concussion near the end of the first half and did not play after the break.

But Hixon certainly made an impact, finishing with four catches for 102 yards. Each of his four receptions resulted in a first down for the Giants, who accumulated 523 yards of total offense. It was their highest single-game total since a 524-yard outing against Green Bay in 2002.

"Domenik played just like he did right through the preseason," Coughlin said. "When he has an opportunity, he plays very well."

"(Hixon) played well," Manning added. "He had to come out, but other guys stepped up and played really well also."

Manning benefited from New York's devastating running game which racked up 254 yards on the ground.

Jacobs ran for a season-high 136 yards on just 15 carries and gave the Giants a comfortable 24-3 lead midway through the second quarter with his second TD of the game, a 1-yard score.

"(Jacobs) was having a good day and he got himself going north and south and broke a couple tackles," Coughlin said. "Our line gave him a nice opportunity to get through the line of scrimmage, and he basically did the rest."

Even underachieving receiver Sinorice Moss got into the act for New York, catching a pair of touchdown passes in the second half. They were the first two career TDs for Moss, a 2006 second-round draft pick who has struggled throughout his pro career.

While the Giants' offense was in high gear, their defense completely bottled up the Seahawks (1-3), who also were coming off a bye week.

Seattle finished with 187 yards of total offense, managed just 13 first downs and converted only 1-of-11 third downs.

Matt Hasselbeck completed 11-of-21 passes for 105 yards and was intercepted once. Bobby Engram, who had missed the first three games this season with a shoulder injury, finished with eight catches for 61 yards.

"We weren't able to sustain drives, because we couldn't convert on third down," Engram said. "It's unfortunate that it went down like that, because we have the guys that can make all the plays."