Giants
(2-7) Jets (1-7) Last
week the Jets started off their game in Miami with a touchdown drive. They had
no more after that, as the Miami Dolphins treated their loyal fans to their first
win of the season, 26-18. The Giants failed to take advantage of opportunities
that came their way in their Monday night match up with the Dallas Cowboys. Settling
for field goals for most of their scoring, they lost 37-18. NY
Jets Many
thought Josh McCown would be the Jets starting quarterback in 2018. McCown was
coming off a year where he set career highs in completions, yards, and touchdown
passes before breaking his hand. Instead, Todd Bowles started the Jets third pick,
and Sam Darnold became the youngest quarterback to start in Week 1 since Drew
Bledsoe in 1993. It's been a tough road for the Jets. After finishing the 2015
season with a 10-6 record, the Jets failed to win more than 5 games in the following
years. After going 4-12 last season, they parted ways with head coach Todd Bowles.
Adam Gase is in charge now, and going into the season, management hoped his offensive
minded style of coaching would foster Sam Darnold in his second year. Jets
Offense Things have not gone well for the
Jets on the offensive side of the ball. They have regressed from last year in
most areas. The Jets are the last place team in the NFL in total offense (223.5
yards), passing offense (157.3), third-down offense (22.8% ), and points (12)
scored per game. That's about 9 points a game less than the previous year. Opponents
have hit them for 37 sacks, which is what the offense gave up all last year. Sam
Darnold had to sit out a few games after being diagnosed with mononucleosis, and
when he returned, things were looking up, as he guided his team to a 24-22 upset
over the Dallas Cowboys. They weren't able to build on that, and have taken
three losses since. New England shut them out 33-0, and despite
the fact that in the past two weeks the Jets scored touchdowns on their opening
drives, the offense stalled, and they ended up losing both games. Le'Veon Bell
is their workhorse. Bell has carried the ball 125 times for 415 yards and 1 touchdown.
The running back is also second on the team in catches only to top receiver Jamison
Crowder, who has just 3 more, and both have caught 1 touchdown pass. Jets
Defense The team does very well defending
against the run. Gregg Williams, their new defensive coordinator, knows how to
utilize his linemen, who he likes to rotate in and out into different fronts.
It's paid off, as the Jets defense has given up just 89.3 yards a game on the
ground, ranking them 6th in the NFL. Last year they were 26th, allowing 126.3
yards a game. They're also the league leader, allowing opponents an average 3.1
yards a carry, and a lot of their good work comes on first downs, where about
60 percent of the time they've limited rushing attacks to two yards or less. Though
their sack numbers are down from last year, the Jets passing defense is about
the same as far as the numbers go. Safety Jamal Adams is the best player in the
secondary. He leads the team with 52 tackles. The Jets have been hit hard in the
cornerback position. This week Trumaine Johnson was placed on injured reserve,
and Darryl Roberts missed practice with a calf injury. It Daniel Jones has time
to throw, he can do damage. Giants
Offense Daniel Jones can be very good at
times, and then bad, making rookie mistakes, but what can you do? With more experience,
Jones will figure it out, and sooner or later, the good should outweigh the bad.
In the 37-18 Monday night loss to the Cowboys, Jones had 3 turnovers, 1 interception
and 2 fumbles, and was sacked five times. For this Jets game, once again Jones
won't have wide receiver Sterling Shepard, and tight end Evan Engram is also out.
Jones will have to lean heavily on Golden Tate, who had as many receptions as
Engram last week, catching all 6 he was targeted for. As for the ground game,
you have to wonder if Saquon Barkley is fully
recovered from his ankle injury. Barkley rushed for only 28 yards against the
Cowboys on 14 carries. If you think the offensive line is the problem, except
for one play where Barkley broke free for 65 yards after catching the ball, his
total on all 6 catches was 67 yards. Getting back to the offensive line, the Giants
will lose some consistency there, as center Jon Halapio has been ruled out with
a hamstring injury. Also, right tackle Mike Remmers has been listed as doubtful,
with a back injury. Giants
Defense Defensive end Leonard Williams was
on the Jets team just two weeks ago. He was traded to the Giants, and in just
his second game with them, will be facing off against his old teammates. It's
an unusual circumstance, and hopefully Williams was able to sprinkle some inside
knowledge around. Sam Darnold doesn't play behind the best offensive line, but
he can fling the ball. Any additional pass pressure would help in a big way, as
the Giants are prone to giving up big plays through the air. Defensive end
Markus Golden leads the team with 5.5 sacks, and the Giants sack numbers are actually
up compared to last year. Still, the Giants couldn't crack the Cowboys offensive
line on Monday. They had no sacks, and gave up 139 rushing yards to Ezekiel Elliott,
who averaged 6 yards a carry. As we mentioned, Le'Veon Bell is one of the Jets
best weapons. Bell was limited in practice this week, dealing with a knee injury,
and the Jets have listed him as questionable. That could be a break for the Giants. Overall
The Giants are favored in this game, but don't
forget that the Jets did win over the Cowboys not too long ago. Both teams have
poor records, and are looking to turn things around, but there's not much of a
season left to do this. If each team were to win all their remaining games, they
would be 9-7, which would be respectable, but obviously not likely. After this
game is played, one won't even be able to do that. Giants or Jets fans, who don't
pay attention to the other team, will have an opportunity here to see two young
quarterbacks whose names might well be recognized for years to come. NFC
East Games Sunday at 1:00pm Giants (2-7)
at Jets (1-7). Sunday at 8:20pm Vikings (6-3) at Cowboys (5-3). The Giants
and Cowboys are favored to win in these games.
Check out.
Giants
On The Air. Listen to the Radio Broadcasts.
TeamGiants on Twitter. Notes.
Giants
Daniel Jones has 8 fumbles on the season, tied for fourth in the NFL. Giants
are 20-10 in games going into the bye week. Giants
have recorded at least two sacks in every game this year except for the ones with
the Cowboys.
Next Games Nov 24 Giants at Chicago.
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