Entering Week 10, the Jets and Giants found themselves in two very similar, yet contrasting situations. Both teams were entering the week with a quarterback that was not supposed to be starting at any point in the season. However, the Jets are in a position to make a playoff push, while the Giants are effectively playing for the #1 overall pick.
Both teams added another tally to their loss column, as the Giants lost once again to the Dallas Cowboys by a final score of 49-17, while the Jets kept the game much closer, but ultimately couldn’t hold off the Raiders in a 16-12 loss.
Giants Drop 2nd Game to Dallas By a Score of 49-17
The Dallas Cowboys entered the game looking to secure a 2023 series sweep against the Giants and their sixth-consecutive victory over them. Meanwhile, the Giants looked to do their best with rookie Tommy DeVito making his first official NFL start in place of the injured Daniel Jones. Dallas began the game looking dominant, getting all the way down to the 2-yard line, where a touchdown seemed inevitable, but 3 straight defensive stops led to a turnover on downs, leaving the Cowboys with nothing out of their opening drive.
While the stop prevented Dallas from scoring, it gave the Giants offense a challenging task, one in which they were unable to complete as they ended up gaining just 4 yards and punting the ball away. After a few more punts, the Cowboys finally opened the scoring on a 14-yard rushing touchdown from CeeDee Lamb. The Giants offense failed to answer back, punting the ball away yet again, but a key interception from Cor’Dale Flott gave them the ball deep in Cowboys territory.
The Giants worked their way towards the endzone, getting all the way to the 4-yard line on 4th & 2. Knowing that points would be hard to come by against an elite Dallas defense, they opted to go for it. The risk turned out to not be worth it, as they failed to convert and did not capitalize on the turnover.
Unlike how the Giants failed to gain yards once on the turnover on downs from Dallas, the Cowboys offense managed to march down the field rapidly, with a 96-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a 1-yard touchdown reception from Jake Ferguson.
Dallas got the ball back yet again, after a quick Giants drive ending in a punt, where they found the endzone for a second straight time, now from a 10-yard touchdown reception from Brandin Cooks. Dallas had one more phenomenal drive in them before the half ended, gaining 95 yard in under 3 minutes and walking away with a 28-0 lead at halftime thanks to a Dak Prescott rushing touchdown.
Giants rookie Tommy DeVito was set to be the team’s quarterback for the rest of the year, but his first half struggles made many Giants fans feel unenthused. DeVito finally had his bright spot, using his legs to lead a 81-yard touchdown drive, finally getting the Giants on the board.
Dallas responded right back, however, with another touchdown drive of their own. The Giants looked to gain some momentum off their previous drive, but an interception from DeVito quickly ended it.
As the game progressed, it became apparent that there was no comeback in the works, the Giants were simply outmatched. However, they did not stop trying, as they put three more points on the board with a field goal and picked up another interception.
In their final drive of the game, DeVito led the Giants down the field, easily making some of his best plays of the day. The Giants ended up scoring another touchdown on the drive and while they came nowhere near winning, DeVito’s bright spots gave Giants fans something to look out for as the season continues.
Jets Drop Crucial Game to Raiders in 16-12 Loss on Sunday Night Football
The Jets were playing under the bright lights of primetime football for the second consecutive time on Sunday. While this may seem like a positive, the team has struggled immensely in primetime, holding a record of 1-2 in their previous 3 games, their most recent primetime win coming in Week 1 against the Bills.
This game was critical for both teams, who were fighting for a playoff spot, as the playoff implications could determine how the rest of their seasons go. If the Jets were able to come out of the game as victors, their odds to make the playoffs would plummet, but a loss would make it very unlikely.
The entire first quarter played out just as you would expect any Jets game to, with stellar defensive play, followed up by less than stellar play from the offense. However, the offense put up 6 points on 2 field goals in the first quarter, already tying their total score from last week’s game. The Raiders also got a field goal, making it a 6-3 game at the end of the quarter.
The Jets, however, were threatening to open the second quarter, as an interception from Jordan Whitehead gave the Jets the ball in field goal range, though it seemed that a touchdown drive was imminent. On 3rd & 7, Zach Wilson maneuvered his way to an amazing run, bringing it all the way into the endzone for a touchdown. But wait, his foot was actually out of bounds at the 3-yard line, so it was called back. Still, 3 yards in 3 plays seemed doable, in fact, Breece Hall got a touchdown on the first play. But that didn’t count either, as there was a holding penalty and the Jets touchdown hopes were essentially crushed as they walked away dissatisfied with the results from that drive.
After a few more punts from both sides, the Raiders finally opened the scoring back up with another field goal to end the half, making it a 9-6 game at halftime, with not a single touchdown anywhere to be found. The third quarter consisted of even more punts with a Raiders field goal snuck in to tie the game, but there was not much action outside of it.
After 3 quarters, the Raiders finally found the endzone on a 7-yard reception from Michael Mayer, putting them up 16-9. Now, field goals would no longer cut it and the Jets offense needed to put seven points on the board, a feat that had not been accomplished since the 2nd quarter of their week 8 game against the Giants. However, the Jets walked away with a field goal, making it a 12-16 game.
The Jets defense once again came up huge, stopping what looked to be a potential game-winning drive and instead recovering a fumble to get them the ball back. The Jets pushed down the field getting far into Raiders territory, before a Zach Wilson interception ended the hopes of a comeback win. But it actually didn’t, as once again the Jets defense kept them in the game, forcing the Raiders to punt the ball away quickly, giving Zach Wilson and the Jets offense a whole minute and a timeout to lead a comeback drive. The Jets got to around midfield with just under 15 seconds left, giving them two opportunities to throw up a hail mary. Unfortunately, both tries failed and the game was over, this time with no chance of coming back.
What This Means Heading Into Week 11:
The Jets have little to no room for failure left after their heartbreaking loss against the Raiders this week and they will have their work cut out for them as they face an elite Bills squad. While they were able to pull off the upset victory against them at the beginning of the season, the Bills home field atmosphere may be too much for the Jets to handle. Regardless, they will look to overcome and persevere, as they have the entire season, but it is certain that their offense must come ready to play if they want any chance at winning.
On the other hand, the Giants season is unofficially over, the playoffs are no longer in their sights and it seems that they are now going to be fighting for a top pick in the NFL Draft, where it remains uncertain whether or not they will decide to draft a quarterback to replace Daniel Jones.