By Marvin Moore October 26, 2023
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. An expected showdown at MetLife Stadium between a legitimate Super Bowl contender and last year’s Cinderella squad has been reduced to a battle of the scrubs. The New York Jets need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. The New York Giants need a win to escape the NFC East basement. However, only diehard New Yorkers give a damn.
The Jets traded for Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers with only one goal – their first Super Bowl appearance since 1969. Boasting one of the league’s top defensive units and a bevy of offensive playmakers, Rodgers was the missing piece of the Gang Green championship puzzle. But after four plays into his Jets debut, the four-time league MVP was lost to a season-ending injury. Ouch!
The Giants inked fifth-year quarterback Daniel Jones to a four-year, $160 million contract extension after the Duke product led the G-Men to the second round of the playoffs last season. New York declined to pick up the fifth-year option for Jones 11 months ago and grossly overpaid the mediocre signal-caller this offseason. Instead of chasing back-to-back playoff berths, the Giants are in the race for the top overall pick in next year’s draft.
Zach Wilson will be under center for the Jets on Sunday. The second overall pick two years ago, the former BYU standout has been a major bust. Wilson has thrown more interceptions (5) than touchdowns (4) and has an ugly 37.1 Quarterback Rating that ranks at the bottom of the league. The XFL-caliber quarterback has surpassed 200 passing yards just once in six outings and has thrown one or fewer touchdowns in all but one game. Calling Wilson mediocre might be a compliment.
Tyrod Taylor is expected to start his third straight game for the injured Jones. But that’s good news for Giants fans. The journeyman quarterback has done something that the $40 million man has been unable to do. Taylor has yet to surrender a turnover in nine quarters. Jones averaged nearly two turnovers a game before hurting his neck in Week 5. While Jones will regain his starting spot once he is healthy, the fact that a quarterback controversy has arisen in New York does not bode well for a franchise that broke the piggy bank to re-sign Jones.
The bookmakers have little confidence in both offenses and expect a low-scoring affair. The Giants are scoring a league-worst 12.1 points per game and have tallied 16 or fewer points in six of their seven contests this season. This offense is not just bad. It’s awfully bad. The Jets offense is a little more competent than their in-state rivals, but their 29.4% efficiency rate in the red zone ranks last in the NFL. But a pair of second-year playmakers, running back Breece Hall and wideout Garrett Wilson, are the main reasons the Jets offense has not ground to a halt without Rodgers.
Hall has recovered from his season-ending knee injury last season with a bang. The 2022 second-round pick leads the league with 6.5 yards per carry and has had two of the top three longest runs in the NFL this season. Hall was the favorite to take home Rookie of the Year honors before his injury, which opened the door for Wilson to bag the award. Despite a lower-tier quarterback, the former first-rounder has caught 32 balls for 369 yards and two scores.
In an anticipated defensive battle, the Jets have a slight advantage and rank fourth in red zone efficiency, surrendering touchdowns on just 36.8% of the opponent’s drives inside the 20. Cornerbacks Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed returned to practice this week and will be back on the field after missing a game in the concussion protocol.
The Giants’ defense is also playing well and has allowed only 21 points in the past two games. Linebacker Bobby Okereke is off to an impressive start this season and joins the Steelers’ T.J. Watt and the Jets Quincy Williams as the only players in the league with five-plus tackles for losses and five or more passes defended. Okereke has paced the Giants with double-digit tackles over the last four weeks, including 11 tackles last week against the Washington Commanders.
Sunday promises to feature a slew of punts, several field goals, a few turnovers, and an ample supply of big plays from both defenses. Points and offensive highlights will be at a premium. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.
