ONE word to describe the New York Jets and New York Giants week three games. Followed by a few more words, because this is a blog, not a sound byte.
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After Week 3 of the NFL season, New York teams are now 3-3 collectively. Actually 6-3 if you count Buffalo, but we do not count Buffalo around these parts. Both the New York Jets and New York Giants played tough in week three, but with opposite outcomes. At least one still has its starting quarterback around.
New York Jets Week 3 in ONE WORD: WATCH NOW – Just ONE Word Only
Who are the New York Jets this season? Can the New York Giants win with special teams alone? Todd loves the Giants and Dan loves the Jets. They both must take the proverbial podium and speak truth into the microphone. Also proverbial.
New York Jets and Giants Week 3
How many games can the Giants win with special teams alone?
Todd Salem: The rest of the Giants’ season is going to be extremely weird. With the absence of Jaxson Dart, the ceiling of this club is as low as anyone’s in the league. They also can’t build for the future with Jameis Winston behind center. (They did trade for JJ McCarthy, but I’d be surprised if he usurped Winston anytime soon, let alone turned into a game-changing passer.) They’ll just be biding their time. That won’t prevent the team from competing though.
In Week 3, the team competed in a sloppy, ugly win over Tennessee. Winston and the offense were pretty poor. The defense was…fine, in that it held one of the worst teams in the league, in one of the messiest environments of the weekend, to seven points. That included Cam Ward missing an open touchdown pass late in the third quarter no thanks to anything the Giants did. And if the Titans had simply kicked a field goal on that possession rather than going for it on fourth down, they would have had a chip-shot field goal at the end of the game to win 13-12. Congrats?
The true star of New York’s win was special teams. They forced and recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff. Rookie kicker Dominic Zvada went 4-for-4 on field goals to tally all of NY’s points. Punter Jordan Stout was a star, booting a 70+ yard punt, pinning three inside the 20, and averaging more than 50 yards per punt. It could be argued that he was the team’s best player for the second straight week!
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Is this actually a formula? I’m being slightly tongue-in-cheek, but this third, oft-overlooked unit is important to successful football teams. The Giants have little working right now on offense or defense. Even the vaunted pass rush has been invisible this season and will now be without Brian Burns for the remainder of the season.
For a team to actually lean on special teams, they need to play mistake-free football. That is not something Winston has ever been known for. They also need to have game-changing returners. Braxton Berrios is only on the roster to return kicks, but he is nothing elite at the position. Against weaker opponents, the Giants may be able to steal some more wins, but that is hardly a blueprint for a season. I see the defense beginning to break down even before the offense. The Giants are hanging on by a thread right now.
Dan Salem: Despite all the injuries, things are kinda sorta falling into place for the New York Giants. There isn’t a single team in their division that is better than them, even without Jaxson Dart. New York has already beaten Dallas once. Philadelphia and Washington look very beatable. Could the Giants realistically win the NFC East?
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To answer the initial question, New York can easily win six to nine games with stout special teams and a solid run game. They simply need Jameis Winston to make as few mistakes as possible. I believe the NFC East can be won with a mere eight victories this season. Any kind of spark from Winston, or JJ McCarthy for that matter, and the Giants might find themselves inching closer to a .500 record.
Make sure you say thank you to Coach Harbaugh, because he is the perfect coach to guide the Giants through this storm. He’s done it before when Lamar Jackson went out in Baltimore, and he knows how to win unconventionally. New York might not be as good without a solid quarterback, but they can still be good with a consistent quarterback who doesn’t turn the ball over.
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What will it take for the Jets to level up past being a “good” bad team?
Todd Salem: It’s hard to tackle Jahmyr Gibbs. It’s hard to outscore the Detroit Lions. It’s hard to beat good teams. This loss is nothing to be ashamed of for the New York Jets, but it is another loss regardless. As we mentioned last week, a team cannot have endless “good” losses, if any at all. At a certain point, New York needs to actually win.
The problem in Week 3 was in the trenches. The Jets got beat by Detroit along both lines. Geno Smith was really good but faced pressure all game, going down five times, including the sack-fumble to seal the loss. The running backs were also held in check, averaging just 3.1 yards per carry. And Gibbs is a great player on the other side, but it’s even harder to handle him when he’s facing open space on many carries.
New York Giants Week 3 in ONE WORD: WATCH NOW – Just ONE Word Only
It’s ironic that this is, in my opinion, an even “better” loss than last week against Green Bay. And yet, stacking the two together implies a team that cannot get over the hump. Either that, or they’re just a “good” bad team. Bad teams lose easily to superior opponents. “Good” bad teams hang in there but still end up losing. What will it take for the Jets to level up?
The lines are where to look. We surmised the offensive line might be a strength before the season started. It hasn’t materialized that way, but it is not too late. Smith can help alleviate some of the burden too; as can the play calls and designs. On defense, the pass rush has been solid thus far, but more must be done to stop the rush. Even at 1-2, the Jets are not in a terrible spot. Pulling out one of these late wins will turn the entire feeling of the team around.
Dan Salem: All the New York Jets need to do in order to level up is get an interception. Its been more than a full season since their last pick and if they hope to start winning games like week 3 in Detroit, the Jets must get turnovers.
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The game against the Lions was fun to watch and an excellent battle. New York played very good offense and did about as well as can be expected against the Lions, who appear to have an unstoppable offense this season (30+ points in three straight games). Yet the Jets struggled a bit stopping Detroit’s pass rush, which led to their only turnover of the game when Detroit caused Geno Smith to fumble with one minute left in the fourth quarter. That sealed it.
The Jets must get an interception, because unless they start getting some takeaways its going to be very difficult to close out good teams and secure wins. Learning to win is an art form. I’d say that New York currently knows how not to lose, because they have a +3 point differential and have played three very good games, but they don’t know how to win just yet. Getting turnovers is crucial to winning games. The Jets must learn how to win and this is the way.
Meet our Sports Writers:
Dan Salem is Lead Editor and Co-owner of BuzzChomp. He’s an award winning Actor, Director and Producer. Visit M Square Productions for his film work, or get lost in his old-school comedy on Pillow Talk TV. You can follow him on X, TikTok and Instagram. His latest film ‘Alone’ is now on Amazon.
Todd Salem is a Staff Writer and Contributing Editor at BuzzChomp. He’s also a champion of fantasy football and fantasy baseball, dominating leagues for over two decades. Comment below on his unfiltered opinions.
New York Jets and New York Giants Week 3 – This Is The End
Photo Credits: jetsxfactor.com via Getty Images and nytimes.com (Gary A. Vasquez / Imagn Images)
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