EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — No one wanted overtime in the preseason finale, and Bill Belichick made sure neither the New York Giants nor New England Patriots had to endure it.

Josh Brown kicked a 37-yard field goal with 38 seconds to play after Belichick went for a first down in his territory late, and the Giants capped their first undefeated preseason since 2006 with a 16-13 victory Thursday night.

Belichick, the Patriots’ coach, went for it on fourth-and-1 from his 39 with less than three minutes to play and the score tied. Rookie Jimmy Garoppolo threw his pass between two receivers and the Giants (5-0) ran off six plays to set up Brown’s third field goal.

“I knew it was going to happen,” Giants punter and holder Steve Weatherford said of Belichick’s decision. “We would have done the same thing. We saw what we needed to see and it was time to get it over with. (Belichick) was in the same position. Everyone was healthy for the most part. As much as you want to win, it’s better to get out healthy.”

The Patriots (2-2) started two regulars and trotted out Tom Brady to hold on the first of Stephen Gostkowski’s two field goals. Other than that, he stayed on the bench.

New England opens Sept. 7 at Miami.

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There were many in New England who felt Garoppolo was getting a chance to win the backup job from Ryan Mallett with this start. If he did, Belichick wasn’t talking about it.

“I think it was a good experience for him,” Belichick said. “It will help his development. He’s obviously got a long way to go. He learned a lot from the week.”

A second-round pick out of Eastern Illinois, Garoppolo showed poise in his first start, completing 22 of 42 for 284 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

“It could have went better,” Garoppolo said. “There are some things we messed up, fixable things.”

The Giants, who have missed the playoffs the past two seasons, play at Detroit in a Monday night game Sept. 8.

The final preseason game was left in the hands of backups for the most part. New England used regulars guard Josh Kline and safety Duron Harmon, and Giants starters played two series.

All the scoring came with reserves on the field and the Patriots were more impressive, with Garoppolo leading scoring drives of 82, 61 and 59 yards. He capped the first one with a 33-yard pass to Aaron Dobson early in the second quarter for a 7-3 lead. Gostkowski had field goals of 37 and 21 yards, the second giving New England a 13-10 lead late in the third quarter.


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