Battle: New York

Luckily for New York fans, the NFL playoffs start early this year. Between inconsistent play and a few inexcusable losses, both the Giants and Jets have backed themselves into a corner and must win their remaining games in order to keep control of their own destinies. If the Giants lose, they need the Cowboys to lose out in order to win the division, which includes a finale between the two teams. They have no wildcard hopes. The Jets, on the other hand, have no hopes of winning the division. If they lose, they hand control of the last wildcard spot over to the Bengals. While it is not necessarily true, the winner of this game will likely make the playoffs, and the loser will likely miss them. This game qualifies as possibly the most important Jets vs. Giants game in history, and might be the biggest game played in MetLife stadium until the 2014 Super Bowl. Now that we have established the importance of this contest, who will win?

Just before this season began, I wrote up an article previewing these two teams and their chances. I believed that while both teams had considerable issues, they were both strong enough to make some noise and the Jets were slightly better off. Now the Jets are one game ahead as these two teams fight over which gets to escape mediocrity. As I said then, the Giants have the more dynamic offense but the Jets have the much better defense, and neither offense is nearly consistent enough to be considered elite. Rarely do things go according to prediction, so I do feel the need to point this out, but never has there been a more unpredictable game. Due to the Jekyll and Hyde nature of seemingly every facet of both teams, no one really knows not only who will win, but also what kind of game will it be. Eli Manning has put up some extraordinary numbers that put him in the top 5 quarterback conversation, and the Giants cannot shut down any quarterback entirely so Mark Sanchez has a chance to build on what has been a career year. With Shonn Greene running the ball well lately, the Jets offense can get moving and we may have a shootout on our hands. Despite all this, Darrelle Revis and company still boast one of the league’s best secondaries, and on the other side of the ball Jets Right Tackle Wayne Hunter cannot physically block anybody so the Giants famous pass rush may feast on Sanchez. Therefore, this game could also be a defensive struggle. Since basically everything can go either way in this game, the winner will be the team that can simply plug up the most holes in their questionable play, to say the least. It is an anticlimactic deciding factor, but it will determine their fates nonetheless.

Back in September I identified the Giants’ flaws to be the turnover ratio, and they have done a pretty good job at limiting their key mistakes while still throwing all over the field. On the Jets side, I said their problems were the heavy limitations of their quarterback and also their head coach Rex Ryan, who has opened up the playbook slightly and Sanchez is actually having a pretty good year. While Eli has kept a relatively clean slate and Sanchez has been on his way up, both teams have slipped. Last week, we saw both sides of New York football revert to their signature problems. Their regressions have led to nothing but concern over their ability to win future games. Fortunately for both teams, they now play each other, so something has to give. If the game opens up early and becomes a shootout, I think the Giants have a clear advantage. Their defense may be bad, but Sanchez is not good enough to torch any defense for thirty something points by himself. He needs help from his defense to win, which is not the case with Eli. If the game is a low scoring and close one to the end however, I give the edge to the Jets. I used to value pass rushers over pass coverers, but in this new age of offenses quarterbacks can get rid of the ball in less than two seconds if they really want to. The few times my Steelers got pressure on 49ers QB Alex Smith, he had already gotten rid of the ball. The only way to keep the ball from receivers in modern football is to make sure they are never open, which is what the Jets are best at. Eli will not find an open receiver on Revis island with the game on the line, and the G-Men no longer have the running game to compensate and make up for this. Sanchez, on the other hand, will be given few, easy, and quick throws, most of which will be off of play action. Even a clear path through Wayne Hunter wont be enough to consistently get to him.

Coach Rex Ryan readied his troupes by calling this game a “battle for New York supremacy.” While this comment was made in typical Rex fashion to build hype and help the public forget their embarrassing loss to the Eagles, I do believe he is exactly right. The Giants reminded New York that the city belonged to them when they beat the Patriots in the greatest Super Bowl of all time. However, their grip on the city has slowly loosened with every disappointing season and the Jets have climbed to their sinking level with consecutive AFC championship appearances and their effectively arrogant demeanor. The best tie breaker of all is the game we will watch later today: Jets vs. Giants, winner take all.

I despise guessing scores but this one is too important to pass up. 20-23 Jets (OT)