EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Eli Manning and the New York Giants didn't exactly lay out the welcome mat for Herm Edwards' return to Giants Stadium.
Manning threw for a touchdown and set up another and the Giants starters and backups dominated in a 17-0 preseason victory over Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night.
If the game showed anything, it was that the Giants (2-0) have the talent to repeat in the NFC East and that Edwards, the former Jets coach, has a lot of work ahead to get the Chiefs (0-2) back to the playoffs for the first time since 2003.
Edwards led the Jets to three playoff appearances in five seasons, but he was ushered out after a 4-12 mark last season. In taking the Chiefs job, he promised to shore up their porous defense.
No such change was evident against the Giants. Manning shredded Kansas City for touchdowns on two of the first three drives, capping the first drive with a 5-yard toss to Amani Toomer and handing off the Brandon Jacobs for a 1-yard plunge on the third series.
The other drive probably would have resulted in points had not Jeremy Shockey and Tim Carter been hit with consecutive holding penalties in Chiefs territory.
Defensively, New York limited Trent Green (4-of-6 for 32 yards) and halfback Larry Johnson (4 carries for 8 yards) to two first downs in two series before turning things over to the backups. The Chiefs never got inside the Giants 40 in the first three quarters.
Manning finished 11-of-14 for 80 yards playing for the first time this preseason with all 11 starters from the offense that scored 422 points last season.
Manning spread the ball around extremely well, hitting Toomer, Plaxico Burress and Carter with two passes each. Tiki Barber, appearing for the first time, ran five times for 22 yards and caught a pass for nine more.
Shockey, who missed the preseason opener with a concussion, caught one pass for 10 yards and he cleared out the middle on the short touchdown pass to Toomer.
In the second-quarter drive, Manning used a no-huddle offense to move New York 52 yards in eight plays without all starters in the game. Jacobs had a 14-yard run on the second play of the drive in which the Giants had only one third-down play: Jacobs' touchdown run.
The game also marked the return of quarterback Rob Johnson to NFL action for the first time since December 2003. He missed the last two seasons with an elbow injury that required surgery.
The 33-year-old Johnson, whom the Giants signed in May, replaced Manning midway through the second quarter and played five series, completing 7 of 14 passes for 62 yards. The 10-year veteran put up points on his last drive, taking New York 65 yards for a 31-yard field goal by Jay Feely on the final play of the third quarter.
RAVENS 20, EAGLES 10: At Baltimore, Correll Buckhalter took a shovel pass from Donovan McNabb, ran 48 yards past several would-be tacklers and announced his return to the Philadelphia Eagles' backfield Thursday night.
Baltimore rallied for a 20-10 victory, but that didn't spoil the fun for Buckhalter, who missed three of the last four seasons with knee injuries. "I feel great, man," Buckhalter said at halftime. "I feel like the old 28."
Buckhalter's catch-and-go ended when he was downed on the 1, and on the next play McNabb threw a touchdown pass to Reno Mahe for a 10-0 lead. The run accounted for nearly half of McNabb's 97 yards through the air on 6-of-10 passing, all in the first half.
Down 10-3 at halftime, the Ravens got a 43-yard touchdown run from Musa Smith to pull even. Matt Stover kicked a 30-yard field goal later in the third quarter to give Baltimore (1-1) its first lead, and Kyle Boller threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Devard Darling with 13:34 left.