The New York Jets (1-7) will host the New York Giants (2-7) this Sunday at MetLife Stadium in a game between two of the NFL’s most unsuccessful teams over the past three seasons.
Here are six things to know.
The series in a nutshell
This Sunday’s game is the 14th regular-season meeting between the two teams since the AFL and NFL merged in 1970. The Giants lead the series, 8-5, with a home record of 5-1.
Their first regular season matchup was on November 1, 1970 at Shea Stadium (I was there) in which the Giants won, 22-10. With Joe Namath out for the season with a broken wrist, the Jets had Al Woodall in at quarterback. The Giants had Fran Tarkenton, who tossed TDs to Bob Tucker and Clifton McNeil that afternoon.
Their last meeting was on December 6, 2015 when the visiting Jets beat the Giants, 23-20, in MetLife Stadium, breaking the Giants’ five-game winning streak in the series. The Giants last played the Jets as the visiting team on December 24, 2011, a 29-14 victory.
Both teams are at rock bottom at the moment
The Giants lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 37-18, on Monday night, their fifth straight defeat. The Jets fell to the winless Miami Dolphins, 26-18, on Sunday, a loss that has the fans calling for the removal of head coach Adam Gase.
The Jets are averaging just 12 points per game on offense, tied for last in the NFL with the Washington and scored over 18 points just once in eight games this season — their surprising 24-22 win over Dallas.
The Giants haven’t been much better, but their issues have been on defense where they have been allowing 28.3 points and 391.4 yards per game.
Since the beginning of the 2017 season, the Giants are 10-31 and the Jets are 10-30.
The Jets lead the league in stopping the run
The Jets defense has quietly done an excellent job against the run, holding opposing ball carriers to just 3.13 yards per carry, the lowest average in the league. Teams are averaging 89.2 yards per game on 28.5 carries.
From the Jets: “Additionally, since 2009, only four teams have held their opponents under 3.2 yards per carry through the season’s first nine weeks, joining a 2013 Jets team and the 2017 CLV defense coordinated by current Jets Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams. All three previous defenses finished in the top two that season in opposing rushing average.”
Griffin could make a difference in this game
Jets tight end Ryan Griffin became only the second tight end in league history with a with two touchdowns and a two-point conversion two weeks ago against Jacksonville, joining Tennessee’s Delanie Walker, who did it in 2015. Last week, against Miami, Griffin caught six of his eight targets for 50 yards, but had a touchdown called back when it was ruled he did not have full possession of the football all the way to the ground.
With the Giants’ reputation of weak coverage of tight ends, Griffin could be in for a big game. Last week, 37-year-old Jason Witten caught eight of nine targets against the Giants and Blake Jarwin burned them for a 42-yard touchdown.
Crowder, Anderson also poise a threat
With the Giants’ secondary in disarray and allowing the most 40-yard passing plays in the NFL (11), the Jets could back out of their offensive slump this weekend.
Wide receiver Jamison Crowder ranks 10th in the AFC in total receptions with 43 this season. He also ranks eighth in receptions with 5.4 per game. Robby Anderson has 23 receptions for 342 yards (14.9 yards per receptions) with a 92-yard touchdown.
The key for the Giants would be to cut the passing game off at the source, quarterback Sam Darnold. Jets quarterbacks have bee sacked 37 times this season, one short of the league high held by the Tennessee Titans.
Leonard Williams faces his former team
Defensive lineman Leonard Williams, who was traded to the Giants on October 28 for a 2020 third round pick and a 2021 conditional selection, was the Jets’ first selection in the 2015 NFL Draft out of USC (6th overall).
Williams had 17 sacks, four passes defended and two forced fumbles in 71 games with the Jets over four and a half seasons. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 2016.
“I think next week will be a little odd,” Williams said about facing the Jets this week. “One, being that the Giants and Jets don’t normally play each other in the season, so it’s like ironic that the one time they do make a trade together, we play them in the same year after the trade. But at the same time, I think I’ll be more comfortable with my teammates, more comfortable with the defense and I’ll be able to play faster next week.”
