This week, both the Jets and Giants walked into their Week 12 matchups with their former third-string quarterbacks starting for them. One decision was not by choice, but by force, as injuries to both Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor forced the Giants to rely on undrafted rookie QB Tommy DeVito to lead them for the remainder of the season, or at least until Taylor’s return. Meanwhile, the Jets lost their starter Aaron Rodgers early in the season due to injury, but their backup Zach Wilson, who was demoted to third-string this week, likely saw his last snap on the Jets this year due to his poor performance. This gave the Jets no other options than to turn to Tim Boyle to hopefully bring them back into the playoff picture.
Jets Fall to Dolphins 34-13 in 4th Consecutive Loss
The Jets and Dolphins faced off this Friday in an unfamiliar manner, as the two teams took part in the inaugural Black Friday football game, the NFL’s latest experiment, created in collaboration with Amazon. The game was only available to stream on Prime Video and began at 3 p.m., a start time seldom seen in primetime games.
As the Jets entered the game, hope was already low with the Jets last win coming nearly a month ago, but a refreshing change of scenery might have been all the Jets needed to turn their season around and become a winning team once again.
In the first quarter, it seemed apparent that Boyle might not have been the solution to the Jets’ problems, as they gained a total of 42 yards in the entire first half, which consisted of 5 drives all ending in punts. Despite their constant offensive woes, the Jets were still in the game as the first half wrapped up, with all their points coming off a Brandin Echols pick-six. With just 2 seconds left in the first half, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa threw another interception, but the Jets would need a miracle to capitalize on it. At midfield, with enough time for one play, Tim Boyle threw a hail mary that was intercepted by Jevon Holland. All the Jets needed to do was tackle him and they would reach halftime down by 4, an unfortunate but easily manageable score. Instead, Holland claimed a pick-six of his own, giving the Dolphins a 17-6 lead going into halftime.
The 99-yard pick-six seemed to drain the energy out of the offense, who, outside of a 1-yard touchdown reception from Garrett Wilson, were unable to do much the rest of the game. The defense managed to get another interception, but the constant offensive struggles proved too great to overcome as the Jets ultimately lost 34-13.
DeVito and Giants Defense Lead Them to 10-7 Victory Over Patriots
Coming off his first NFL win, NJ native and new viral sensation Tommy DeVito looked to help the Giants win back-to-back games for the first time this season. When looking at the Giants’ opponent, a win was very well within reach, as the Patriots are one of the few teams with a worse record than the Giants. Though, many fans have been split on if they want to see wins, or if it is more beneficial to sacrifice this season in return for a better pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The game nearly went scoreless the entire first half, as the two teams put on a defensive clinic, with the Patriots recovering a fumble and the Giants getting two interceptions. Their second interception set them up, putting them at the Patriots 26 to start the drive. The Giants quickly took advantage of the turnover, scoring the first points of the game on a 12-yard touchdown reception from Isaiah Hodgins.
The Patriots immediately responded when the third quarter opened up with a 60-yard touchdown drive ending with a 7 yard rush from Rhamondre Stevenson. The third quarter did not contain much action after the touchdown drive, but the next quarter, the Giants defense set them up to score once again. Their third interception of the day put them near field goal range already, meaning the 18 yards they gained on the drive just helped ensure that Randy Bullock made the 42-yard field goal to give the Giants the lead.
With the fourth quarter winding down, the Patriots had roughly three minutes to either kick a field goal to force overtime or score a touchdown to win the game. The Patriots drove down the field, getting all the way to the Giants 17 with six seconds left. Overtime seemed to be a certainty at that point, but miraculously Chad Ryland missed the kick wide left, giving the Giants their second consecutive win.
What This Means Heading Into Week 13:
We are officially entering the most important stretch of the season, which will determine what teams do and do not make it to the playoffs and both the Jets and Giants are sitting far away from a playoff spot. While still mathematically possible, the Giants are more than likely out of the race, and the Jets cannot afford another loss if they want any chance at a playoff berth.
Next week, the Jets will take on the Falcons in what should be a very winnable game for them, which may help get them back on track, while the Giants are going to get a much-deserved bye week.