The New York Giants started their title defense on a high note Thursday night, beating the Washington Redskins 16-7 in the 2008 NFL Season Opener.

The G-Men relied mostly on running back Brandon Jacobs, who carried the ball 21 times for 116 yards. Eli Manning looked sharp in the first half, but struggled dramatically in the second as the Redskins found ways to disrupt his timing. Receiver Plaxico Burress had a big night, hauling in 10 passes for 133 yards.

Even though the Giants won, an interesting situation occurred on the game’s final play. With the Redskins trying for desperation points with less than 10 seconds remaining in the game, Washington offensive tackle Chris Samuels held Giants’ defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka’s legs as Kiwanuka beat him around the edge. Kiwanuka fell awkwardly and struggled to get up with an apparent leg injury. The game ended on that play, so it’s unclear at this point how serious the injury was (if it was anything at all).

What an incredible blow it would be if the Giants lost yet another defensive end following Michael Strahan’s retirement and Osi Umenyiora’s season ending knee injury. Kiwanuka had to make the transition from linebacker to end to fill in for Umenyiora, so New York is already thin at the position. Hopefully for the Giants’ sake, Kiwanuka is fine.

Update: Kiwanuka had X-rays taken after the game and they were reportedly negative.