Giants 27, Jaguars 5

Jim Fassel and the New York Giants found something Tom Coughlin and the Jacksonville Jaguars are still looking for - an offense.

Kerry Collins, Jason Garrett and Jesse Palmer threw touchdown passes as the Giants beat the Jaguars 27-5 Thursday night to snap a seven-game preseason losing streak.

A week after being held to 92 yards by New England in a 14-0 loss, the Giants gained 313 yards on offense and didn't turn the ball over.

``I am definitely more encouraged by this week and the way the game went today,'' said Collins, who was 8-of-11 for 89 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown pass to Greg Comella.

``Coming into today, I wasn't sure where we were,'' Collins added. ``But now I think we're right on track.''

The same can't be said of the Jaguars (1-1), who have yet to score a touchdown in two preseason games. They've gotten seven field goals from Mike Hollis and a safety, which came when they blocked a punt by Rodney Williams in the fourth quarter.

``I'm concerned,'' halfback Fred Taylor said. ``I don't remember the last time we went this long without a touchdown. We've got to put points on the board.''

Jacksonville, which had three turnovers, was limited to 169 yards by the Giants, who have yet to give up a touchdown in the preseason.

``We didn't play well,'' a visibly annoyed Coughlin said. ``We don't have any excuses. I thought the first half was very poor football. Our offensive team was poor all night long. Our quarterbacks were rattled. We didn't play well at that position.''

Mark Brunell didn't argue with his coach after going 2-of-7 for 16 yards.

``We really struggled,'' the quarterback said. ``There were no surprises out there. We expected them to blitz a lot and they did. We didn't execute. We've got to turn this around. In two short weeks, it will be real bullets.''

This game had none of the dramatics of last year's preseason contest, a bizarre 16-13 win by Jacksonville.

On the final play of the game, the Jaguars recovered a fumble in the end zone that was caused when Giants rookie linebacker Jack Golden inadvertently stripped the ball from a teammate after an interception.

This one was pretty much over by halftime as Collins connected with Comella late in the first quarter and Garrett tossed a 4-yard pass to Joe Jurevicius on the final play of the half to give the defending NFC champions a 20-0 lead.

Jaret Holmes also had field goals of 45 and 30 yards for New York.

Palmer added a 44-yard touchdown pass to fellow rookie draft pick Jonathan Carter in the fourth quarter.

Hollis, who kicked six field goals in Jacksonville's 18-16 win over Carolina in its preseason opener, kicked a 41-yarder early in the fourth quarter. The blocked punt got the Jaguars within 20-5, but Palmer and Carter combined to put the game out of reach.

Giants halfback Ron Dayne rushed for 43 yards on 12 carries and Jurevicius, filling in for the injured Ike Hilliard, had seven catches for 68 yards.

An 11-yard punt return by Amani Toomer, who left with a sprained ankle, and four runs by Dayne for 18 yards set up Holmes' 45-yarder on New York's first series.

Collins hit Jurevicius on passes of 10 and 24 yards on the 54-yard drive that he capped with the pass to Comella.

A 22-yard punt return by Will Allen, the Giants' first-round draft pick, set up Holmes' second field goal.

Garrett's fourth-down TD pass capped an eight-play, 44-yard drive run as a two-minute drill.

Giants tight end Howard Cross sprained his left knee and will be sidelined about two weeks.

The Giants' last preseason win was also against Jacksonville, a 27-20 decision on Aug. 21, 1999.

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