New York makes giant trip worthwhile

WEMBLEY, England – For art, they could have gone to the British Museum. For something grand, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace were a train ride away.

Instead, what the fans got on this history-making Sunday in London was old-fashioned, muck-it-up football – not very entertaining and not pretty at all, unless you ask the New York Giants, who came out with a 13-10 victory over the still-winless Miami Dolphins.

“We won, so obviously it was worth it,” said Giants defensive lineman Osi Umenyiora, who was born in London.

Eli Manning threw for only 59 yards but ran for New York’s lone touchdown to lift the Giants (6-2) to their sixth straight victory, a mud-caked slog through the unfriendly pitch at torn-up Wembley Stadium in this, the first regular-season NFL game played outside North America.

Helped in part by a steady rain that made offense nearly impossible, the New York defense allowed only 254 yards and held the Dolphins (0-8) out of the end zone for the first 58 minutes.

The teams combined for a grand total of 492 yards, only 187 passing – numbers single teams often put up by themselves in a single game. They combined for seven fumbles, two missed field goals and 14 penalties, including four by the Giants on one late drive that had Coughlin annoyingly yelling at his team to “stay calm” as they tried to salt this one away.

Overall, the teams played conservative but not exciting football. They played not to lose – a strategy the Dolphins still haven’t figured out this year.