Along with the Buffalo Bills, the New York Giants and Jets have had various modicums of success in their respective franchises. The focus today will be on the latter two. From 2000-2015, the Giants represented New York by making the NFL Playoffs seven out of 15 seasons while also hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy two out of the three times they’ve played. The Jets have perhaps experienced the most disappointment, making it to the playoffs six times in the past 20 years, but being eliminated in the Wild Card round on two occasions and never making it to the Super Bowl in any of those years. How have these two teams been performing this year? What should we expect for the rest of the season? Let’s break that down team-by-team.
The Giants:
The Giants have lost four games so far, dropping them against the Washington Football Team, Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, and Dallas Cowboys. Aside from Dallas and maybe Denver, none of those teams are looking to have slightly below average seasons. The Giants’ only win thus far has come against the Saints, who have been middle of the pack.
Fans are attributing this poor performance over the fact that the Giants have had a changing of their guard recently, with Daniel Jones taking over as starting quarterback after Eli Manning’s historic 15-year career came to an end, retiring in 2019. It has been a learning curve for Jones since starting on the team, coupled with the slow decline of the Giants’ roster. Household names like Jason Pierre-Paul, Odell Beckham Jr., and Rashad Jennings no longer roam the field, being shown only on highlights throughout the years. The Giants did have a bright spot in Saquon Barkley, the 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year, but both he and Jones went down to injury in the recent Dallas game. That’s in addition to the Giants losing their $72 million wide receiver Kenny Golladay in the same game.
Aside from the injury bug biting hard, the Giants will have a difficult rest of the season. They will face prominent teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, and the defending Super Bowl Champions: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Jets:
The Jets recently broke their three-week losing streak by beating out the Tennessee Titans in Week 4, having previously lost to the Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, and the Broncos. They would follow up that upset win with a loss against the Falcons in London, England. Gang Green swung for the fences with new quarterback Zack Wilson, drafted this year from Brigham Young University after trading former third overall pick quarterback Sam Darnold to the Panthers. The Jets have had a history of trying to bank their wins on the success of their young quarterbacks, making it to the playoffs last time on the back of Mark Sanchez. Sanchez took them to the AFC Championship two years in a row in his second and third year. This year doesn’t look like it will end in a similar fashion.
Like most seasons, the Jets have a decent to above average defense, but lack offensive talent to shake up the AFC East division. Yet, the team is full of rookies and new players that haven’t found their footing nor have had the chance to make any kind of impact; names like Denzel Mims, Elijah Moore, Mekhi Becton, and Quinnen Williams come to mind. Time will tell if these players will see any success with the Jets later down the line.
Final Thoughts:
These last few years have been a real change for many accustomed to the traditional landscape of the NFL. Some teams have improved while others have fallen to the bottom of the ranks. What is certain for many football fans in New York is that if the Giants and Jets don’t turn it around soon this season, they could be stuck in a perpetual pattern of mediocrity.
