Both the Jets and the Giants found themselves playing in front of a national audience this past week, as the Giants hosted the Cincinnati Bengals for Sunday Night Football and the Jets hosted a division rival in the Buffalo Bills for Monday Night Football.
Jets Comeback Fall Shorts in Narrow 23-20 Loss to Bills
This past Monday, Aaron Rodgers took the field against the Buffalo Bills for the first time since he suffered a season-ending injury facing them last year. Looking to make a statement against the division rivals in his first game facing them as a member of the Jets, Rodgers was determined to guide them to a win. The Jets got off to a hot start, quickly capturing a 10-7 lead, but after 2 more Bills touchdowns, the Jets found themselves down 20-10.
Down 20-10, with just seconds remaining before the half ended, Aaron Rodgers pulled off his signature hail mary magic on 52-yard touchdown to long-time teammate Allen Lazard, making it a 20-17 game before the end of the half and putting the Jets right back in the game.
The Jets proceeded to tie the game up on a field goal on their first possession of the second half. However, back-to-back missed field goals on the next two drives halted their momentum and gave the Bills the opportunity to take the lead on a 22-yard field goal, making it 23-20.
Finding themselves in a similar situation to last week, the Jets needed to lead a game-winning drive or at least walk away from the quarter with a tie to head to overtime. Unfortunately, the game met the same fate as it did last week and an Aaron Rodgers interception sealed the Bills’ win.
Giants Lose to Bengals 17-7 in Impressive Defensive Performance
Coming off an upset victory over the Seahawks, the Giants were hoping to keep the good energy rolling against a struggling Bengals team. The game didn’t start the way they wanted with the Bengals immediately scoring a touchdown on their first drive, but the defense stood their ground for the rest of the half, giving the Bengals just a 7-0 after the first two quarters.
The Giants’ stellar defense allowed them to stay in the game long enough for the offense to eventually find the endzone on a Tyrone Tracy touchdown to tie the game, 7-7. The Bengals immediately responded back, however, with a field goal to recapture the lead.
The Giants ultimately weren’t able to overcome the deficit, allowing another Bengals touchdown in addition to multiple missed touchdowns of their own. The Bengals ultimately ended up walking away victorious by a score of 17-7, with the Giants’ offense unable to keep up.
What to Look for Next Week
On Sunday, the Giants will be hosting a divisional rival in the Philadelphia Eagles, looking to get back to their winning ways. As they get set to face an Eagles team that has been struggling mightily to start the season, a win may not be far out of reach. The Giants will also be very excited to have star rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers returning to the team.
Later in the day, the Jets will be traveling to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers in another primetime game on Sunday Night Football. The most notable story on the field on Sunday will be new Jets wide receiver and longtime Aaron Rodgers teammate Davante Adams, who was recently traded to the team.