EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It finally happened. New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz returned to the field Saturday night for the first time in 685 days. He caught his first pass in a game since tearing the patellar tendon in his right knee on Oct. 12, 2014.

Cruz traveled a long, hard road filled with too many detours to get to this point. Even this stop Saturday night wasn't without its bumps.

Here is how it all unfolded, from the moment he stepped on the MetLife Stadium field until his final snap early in the second quarter:

5:28 p.m.: Cruz is on the field to start warming up in a gray long-sleeve Giants shirt a little more than two hours before kickoff. He begins with a light jog around the field. He's all business.

5:57 p.m.: After running routes with the other receivers and quarterback Eli Manning, this prewarm-up is a wrap. Cruz and Odell Beckham Jr. do their special handshake, which concludes with a triple-barrel windmill.

6:30 p.m: Cruz comes onto the field for pregame warm-ups in his No. 80 uniform to play in a game for the first time in almost two years.

7:30 p.m.: Just minutes before kickoff, Cruz goes to the end zone, takes a knee and has a moment to himself. When he's done, Cruz points to the sky and taps his heart in appreciation as some fans in the end zone chant "Cruuuuuuuuz."

Play 1: Cruz lines up opposite New York Jets All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis. It's a run play, and he doesn't do much blocking. Revis whispers something to the Giants receiver after the play.

"He just said hello to me after the first run play and whatnot, and he just said, ‘It's good to see you,' and then we just carried on about our business," Cruz said.

Play 2: The Jets jump offsides. As the official sort things out, Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson seeks out Cruz and has some words.

Opening drive: The Giants run one pass play. Cruz runs down the seam but isn't open. He was matched against Revis on four of the five plays, but it was a lot of nothing. They matched against each other twice more after this. It was enough for Revis to make an initial evaluation.

"I think he looks fine. I just think, especially with a major knee injury, your mind plays tricks on you because you're scared to make a certain cut because you got injured," Revis said. "The injury's always replaying back. I'm sure after he continues to strengthen it and keeps on getting stronger, he'll be back to the old Victor Cruz that we always used to see."

Play 8: This is the first real route Cruz runs. It is out of the slot against Jets cornerback Buster Skrine. Cruz tries to make a quick move at the line and doesn't get much separation as he runs deep. Quarterback Eli Manning is sacked; the play never had a chance.

Plays 9-13: This is late first/early second quarter. After two routes -- one against Revis, the other against Skrine -- where Cruz doesn't get open, he does a double move and has a full step or two on Skrine as he runs toward the pylon. But Manning throws the deep ball too short and inside; it should've been intercepted by safety Marcus Gilchrist.

"It's a big step. Big step," Giants coach Ben McAdoo said. "Got back on the field, had a chance to win on the double move. We couldn't get the ball out cleanly, and he caught another ball [in the second half]. He looked comfortable and confident."

Plays 14-26: This was the remainder of the first half. It was a lot of nothing for Cruz and the Giants' offense. Cruz wasn't able to create separation from Skrine on most of his pass routes, although he did get open against Gilchrist on a third-down play, but Manning had to scramble to the opposite side of the field because of heavy pressure.

The catch: On the first play of the second half, Cruz had a clean release and made a quick jump cut out of the slot toward the sideline. Manning hit Cruz quickly before he was tackled near the sideline by safety Rontez Miles. It was a meaningful but unspectacular play.

"It was great, man," Cruz said. "That ball felt like it was forever in the air before it got to my hands, but it was good to kind of catch that ball and get a little contact, get a little hit out of bounds and hopefully I can build on that. But it was definitely good to get one in."

The final play: Cruz ran a comeback route two plays later on third down out of the slot but didn't get open. His night was over after this.

The breakdown: Cruz looked to be running fine. he wasn't overly explosive or noticeably sluggish either. He was able to get open downfield with a nice move and a solid burst of speed on the almost-interception. It was a decent starting point. After almost two years out, after just two real practices this week following a groin injury, this was as good as Cruz and the Giants could've expected. The hope is that he can build off this and continue to get more explosive.

Total snaps: 29

From slot: 23

vs. Revis: 5

Noticeably open: 3

"I just wanted to see myself get open, continue to go out there and do the things that I'm accustomed to doing, and I felt that way," Cruz said. "I felt good about the things that I was putting out there. I felt good about how I was running my routes, the things that I was doing and things of that nature, so Step 1 was definitely being out there, getting out there with my teammates and then Step 2 was not just being out there -- it was making an impact."