By Paul Sondhi
Heading into Sunday, both the Jets (7–5) and the Giants (5–7) had a lot at stake. Gang Green was sitting at 6–5, with a shot at snagging one of the wildcard spots in the AFC. Even with a losing record, Big Blue could have taken a step towards putting a stranglehold on the NFC East.
In what turned out to be a memorable game, to say the least, the Jets pulled out a crazy win, coming back from being down 20–10 at half to win in overtime, 23–20.
Though the scoring was not anything especially prolific, both teams saw strong performances from their quarterbacks and star wide receivers. Odell Beckham Jr. came through with his typical brilliance on a crossing route in the second quarter that turned into a breakaway, 72-yard touchdown. OBJ finished the day with 149 yards, and Eli Manning threw for 297 yards and that touchdown.
For the Jets, Ryan Fitzpatrick came up big with 390 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a clutch pass to Brandon Marshall for a 9-yard touchdown that tied the game with 27 seconds left to play. Marshall caught an impressive for 131 yards and that TD, snagging all but one of the thirteen targets directed towards him.
If you had watched the first three quarters of this game and elected to turn the TV off, you would’ve been stunned by the result. The Jets played lackluster football, and did not seem as if they had the capability to come back in the manner that they did. But with a risky play call by Tom Coughlin to go for it on 4th & 2 just four yards from the goal line midway through the 4th quarter that resulted in an interception, Gang Green managed to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat.
In OT, the Jets put together a strong drive to start it off, marching down the field in six minutes and kicking a field goal from the thirteen-yard line to go up. On the next drive, Giants’ kicker Josh Brown failed to convert on a 48-yard attempt to seal the G-Men’s fate. For a team that looked to be in control heading into the final quarter, this loss stings a lot. It marks the third loss in a row for Manning’s squad, and with the Eagles’ winning in surprising fashion at New England, the road to claiming the NFC East just got a whole lot murkier. They’ll look to right the ship next Monday night against the mediocre Miami Dolphins in South Beach.
Ironically, the Jets’ chances at making the playoffs may be worse than the Giants’. Right now, Todd Bowles has his team in the sixth and final playoff spot in the AFC thanks to a tiebreaker over Pittsburgh. The team directly in front of the Jets, Kansas City, is on fire, having won six games in a row after a rough start to the season. KC’s last four games are against San Diego, Baltimore, Cleveland, and Oakland, and going 3–1 for the rest of the season seems pretty easy. The Steelers have a much tougher finish to the year, facing Cincinnati and Denver in the next two weeks before getting two easy ones versus the Ravens and Browns.
It’s going to take at least two wins in their last four games for the Jets’ to be in contention for the playoffs. Fortunately, they have a chance to gain some momentum against Tennessee and Dallas before playing New England and Buffalo to wrap up the regular season. The first priority for the Jets should be to get Darrelle Revis healthy, as their star cornerback has been out for about two weeks since sustaining a concussion. Their secondary is glaringly weak without him, and the offense is streaky enough to get some people worried.
Both New York football teams can still make it to the playoffs if they finish the season strong. The last time the Jets and Giants both made it to postseason was back in 2006, a year before the Giants’ magical 2007 run. Maybe there’s some magic left for at least one of these teams.
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