By Tomas McDermott
Ever since week six, it has been bad. The Giants and Jets have severely underperformed and are pitiful to watch. They are both outside of the playoff race and now focusing on their draft positions. They have both started their third-string quarterbacks, and the Jets are looking to start their fourth-string quarterback next week. Both have hit rock bottom, and it seems impossible for them to get out.
Week 7: Commanders at Giants
After the tough loss to the Bills, the Giants had an easy game against the Commies in week seven. They managed to eke out the win, with two receiving touchdowns from Waller and Saquon. They had a huge defensive stand in their own red zone to end the game. At 2-5, they still had hope. The biggest matchup of the year was up next: Jets vs Giants.
Week 7: Jets Bye
After their miraculous upset against the Eagles, morale was high. The Jets could not just celebrate the whole week. They had a grueling game against another fellow Jersey team: the New York Football Giants.
Week 8: Jets at Giants
This was a tough watch. The Jets started the game off with a fumble, and the Giants capitalized with a field goal. After half a dozen punts, Breece Hall had a long 50-yard receiving touchdown to make the score 7-3. After even more punts, Tyrod Taylor got injured. The Giants had to start their third-string quarterback, Tommy DeVito. As DeVito is an undrafted rookie from Jersey, the Giants had zero hope. They only let DeVito throw seven times and achieved a whopping negative one passing yards. For the day, the Giants had negative nine net passing yards. Because the Giants could not pass the ball, they had to pound the rock. Saquon had 36 carries, a career-high for him. The Jets also had their fair share of injuries, with their third-string center coming in. In the third quarter, DeVito had a 6-yard run for his first NFL touchdown. After more back-and-forth punts, the Jets had a chance to win the game with a little more than two minutes left. The Giants got a huge sack on fourth down, and the game seemed over. The Giants ran down the clock and attempted a 35-yard field goal with 28 seconds left. Gano missed it, and the Jets had life again. With no timeouts, the Jets needed a miracle. They started off with a 29-yard reception to Garrett Wilson inbounds. The clock would have kept running, but an offside was called on Kayvon Thibodeaux. After the game, people saw that Thibodeaux was not offside. This officiating error cost the Giants the game, as it gave the Jets enough time to keep the drive going. Allen Lazard had a big reception but was tackled inbounds. The Jets had to race to spike it, stopping the clock with one second left. They made a field goal, and the game was going to overtime. The Giants started with the ball and had a three-and-out. The Jets got the ball, and they were driving down the field. Wilson threw it deep to practice squad receiver Malik Taylor. Adoree’ Jackson made a terrible mistake, knocking Taylor down while not looking at the ball. That is a textbook pass interference call, and the Jets made the field goal from there. In total, there were 24 punts, the most punts in a single game since 2003.
Week 9: Giants at Raiders
After that abysmal game, the Giants had an easy game against the Raiders. After firing Josh McDaniels, a former Giants linebacker, Antonio Pierce was the interim coach. The Raiders were 3-5 coming into this game. Daniel Jones came back and immediately got injured. He tore his ACL and is out for the rest of the year. The rest of the game was a dumpster fire. The Raiders pummeled the Giants defense, and DeVito was drowning because of the pathetic o-line. The final score was 30-6, but it easily could have been more.
Week 9: Chargers at Jets
Back in East Rutherford, the Jets were facing the Chargers on Monday night. The Jets offense sputtered again, only scoring six points the whole game. They fumbled three times, which did not help generate any more offense. The Chargers offense just had to manage the game, which they successfully did. Losing 27-6 to this Chargers team is pathetic. Being outcoached by Brandon Staley is difficult to do, but the Jets achieved it.
Week 10: Giants at Cowboys
In Jerry-World, the Giants desperately needed a win. They needed it for the small chance of making the playoffs, but they also needed it for morale. Instead, they did the opposite. Dak Prescott had five total touchdowns and was just handing out touchdowns to anyone. Brandin Cooks had more receiving yards in this game than he had the entire year. The offense didn’t wake up until garbage time. DeVito had two touchdowns, and it was only 49-17. There was some improvement; they only lost by 32 this time!
Week 10: Jets at Raiders
The other New York team was facing the Raiders. The Jets couldn’t score a single touchdown and lost 16-12. It seems like they forget how to play football when they are in the red zone. The Raiders didn’t play much better; all they did was score in the red zone once. The defense did its part, forcing two turnovers. The offense just needs to come back to life.
Week 11: Giants at Commanders
Nobody knows why Dan Snyder sold the team when the Giants already own the Commanders. It should not be so difficult for the Commanders to beat the Giants. The Giants should have been destroyed with Tommy Devito, who still lives with his parents. Nope. Tommy DeVito threw three touchdowns and had an amazing second start. It must be his mother’s home cooking that powers him. The defense had a phenomenal game. They forced 6 turnovers!! The defense especially stepped up at the end of the game, with the Commanders down 24-19. Isaiah Simmons got a pick-six and iced the game. It was a good win for morale, but the Giants need to start tanking. The quarterback position is in shambles, and Caleb Williams or Drake Maye seem like better options.
Week 11: Jets at Bills
In Buffalo, the Jets could not get another miracle. They were steamrolled 32-6. Zach Wilson was benched for Tim Boyle, a man who is statistically one of the worst college quarterbacks ever. The one silver lining is the Jets finally scored a touchdown!! They had gone 14 quarters without scoring a touchdown. The defense admitted defeat once they saw how bad the offense was.
Week 12: Patriots at Giants
This was yet another miserable game. Ten years ago, the Patriots vs Giants was a Super Bowl matchup. Nowadays it is a Tank Bowl matchup. This was a defensive battle, with only 17 total points being scored. The Patriots’ offense was so bad that they benched Mac Jones for the fourth time this season. The Giants were up 10-7 with three minutes left. The Pats were methodically driving down the field. They got in field goal range and were chewing clock. The Pats attempted a 35-yard field goal to send the game to overtime. The kick is up... AND IT IS NO GOOD! Chad Ryland missed the kick wide left, and the Giants won the Tank Bowl. It was good for the short term but might be franchise-altering. Winning this game made their draft pick lower, and now there is a slim chance for the G-Men to get a top five pick.
Week 12: Dolphins at Jets
The first ever Black Friday game was a disaster for the Jets. It started off well, as the Jets scored on a pick-six. They missed the extra point, and it was a 10-6 game. The offense was non-existent with career backup Tim Boyle starting. The Jets went for a Hail Mary at the end of the first half to gain momentum. Boyle aired it out, and it was picked off by Jevon Holland. He juked and dodged all the Jets players and scored a 99-yard pick-six. This is the absolute worst result that could ever happen from a Hail Mary. It is so bad that it is being called the Hell Mary. This is not the first time the Jets have had an awful play named after them, as they had the Butt Fumble on Thanksgiving 11 years ago. The game got out of the Jets hands, and they couldn’t do anything. The final score was 34-13, but it could have been more.
Week 13: Giants Bye
It is hard to say what the team should focus on during the bye. They are too good to get a top three pick but are too bad to have a realistic shot at the playoffs.
Week 13: Falcons at Jets
Each week, it seems like the Jets cannot look any worse. This is never the case. The game started off with a safety on the Falcons. With a 2-0 lead, the Jets fumbled the lead away. Dalvin Cook fumbled, which led to a touchdown by the Falcons. After a couple of field goals, the Jets did the impossible. In the fourth quarter, they benched Tim Boyle for Trevor Siemian. Siemian is the FOURTH-STRING quarterback. To nobody’s surprise, the offense stayed the same: miserable. The final score was 13-8 Falcons, but neither team deserved to win this game.
Both New York teams have more questions than answers right now. Should the Giants keep Daniel Jones or draft a quarterback? Is Tommy DeVito the real deal? Should the Jets also draft a quarterback? Is Hackett the problem? All of these questions heavily determine both teams' future and success for the coming seasons. Many are confident that neither team will make the correct decision because this is New York, where both football teams are perennially mismanaged.