FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- A battle of reserves to end the preseason was fittingly decided by a backup kicker.
Chris Boswell kicked four field goals and the New York Giants finished off the preseason with a 12-9 victory Thursday over the New England Patriots, who had already won a much larger victory earlier in the day.
A federal judge vacated the NFL's four-game suspension of Tom Brady, clearing the Patriots star quarterback for the regular season opener and beyond. Brady was among the 34 players who didn't play against the Giants, who rested quarterback Eli Manning and most other starters as well.
"It came down to a second half for a lot of people realizing that it was their opportunity and they played hard. That's the best thing you can say about it," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said.
Boswell was waived on Aug. 16 but resigned Wednesday with veteran kicker Josh Brown still nursing a bruised leg from making a tackle Aug. 22 against Jacksonville.
If the Giants want to keep a backup kicker on the roster, Boswell made a good case for himself by with field goals of 34 and 29 yards in the first half and with a 33-yarder late in the third quarter. Boswell's 41-yard kick with 8:18 left to play was the only scoring of the fourth quarter.
Kicker Stephen Gostkowski also provided all of the scoring for New England, which left the offense in the hands of third-stringer Ryan Lindley.
The focus was still on Brady, whose whereabouts were kept top-secret by the Patriots.
"I'll just talk about the game - any questions about the game," New England coach Bill Belichick said, cutting off the first Brady-related question.
There wasn't much of a game to talk about, but New England fans continued celebrating until a downpour late in the fourth quarter.
Brady was well represented in the stands. During one early stoppage, The Who's "I'm Free" blared from the PA system as fans wearing "Free Brady" T-shirts cheered.
One fan even suggested U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, whose ruling led to New England's collective vindication celebration, should consider higher aspirations.
The "Judge Berman for President 2016" sign got the most cheers of the many shown on the giant monitors.
Brady's teammates, like their coach, had little to say about the good news.
"Hey man, I have enough on my plate," recently signed receiver Reggie Wayne said. "I'm excited he's available, but Reggie's got to take care of what Reggie's got to take care of - to get better."
Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press
