Last Night's Action: Off on the Right Foot

Photograph of Brandon Jacobs rushing during the third quarter by Bill Kostroun/AP

• Giants 16, Redskins 7: The Giants started their Super Bowl title defense with plenty of good, well, defense. Of course, the Redskins' offense isn't anything to write home about, but the Giants will take seven points and 209 total yards allowed any day of the week. Eli Manning wasn't great (19-of-35, 0 passing touchdowns, one interception), but that doesn't matter. Manning's rushing touchdown got the Giants started on their opening drive, and he found Plaxico Burress (newly extended) for 133 yards on 10 catches.
• Rays 7, Yankees 5: Darrell Rasner vs. Scott Kazmir didn't look good. It didn't end up well either. The Yankees tried to come back from a 6-0 hole, but ninth-inning homers from Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez weren't enough. The game, like the season, was out of reach.
• At the U.S. Open, Andy Roddick tried to battle back from a two-sets-to-none deficit against Novak Djokovic, but, despite serving for the fourth set, lost the match in a fourth-set tiebreaker. This comes after Roddick made fun of Djokovic's frequent trainer requests. Earlier Thursday, Roger Federer reached his 18th straight (!) Grand Slam semifinal. That means Saturday's -- or Sunday's, depending on the weather -- semifinals will include a rematch of last year's final. Federer is the four-time defending champ.