Jets Face Another Must Win in New York vs. New York Showdown with Giants

Darrelle Revis (Getty Images)
Revis will miss this game against the Giants.
Jets will need Revis to shut down Cooper.

If last week’s game against Miami was considered a “must win”, then so is this one against the Giants- and not just because of the ‘rivalry’. First of all, it’s only a rivalry because the fans make it out to be one. The teams themselves are not rivals.

Regardless, the Jets cannot afford a loss this Sunday because of the standings. At this moment, the Jets are 6-5 along with the Chiefs, Texans, and Steelers. And since the Texans beat the Jets earlier this season, the Jets need to outright beat the Texans in the standings for a playoff spot. It’s also worth noting that the Bills and Raiders are just one game back at 5-6.

So given the standings, it is safe to say that the Jets should probably be a playoff team with a final record of 10-6. That gives the Jets one more loss to work with for the rest of the season. And one of their remaining games is the New England Patriots. It may be at home, but I would not bank on Jets victory.

So if the Jets want to guarantee themselves a playoff spot, it starts with beating the Giants this Sunday afternoon. And here are a few ways to do it.

1. Pass First – This game is one of the few this season where the Jets should be a pass first team. The Giants secondary is flat out bad. They are the only team in the NFL this season that on average allows over 300 passing yards every week. Ryan Fitzpatrick, who is coming off a performance in which he threw four touchdown passes and zero interceptions, should take full advantage. Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker also had good games last week so hopefully the momentum will carry over to this week. And if the Jets start passing the ball well, then Chris Ivory, who is coming off his first good performance in several weeks, will have plenty of opportunities to run the ball.
2. Defense – Despite Darrelle Revis more than likely being out this weekend due to a concussion injury, the Jets still have a lot of options on defense. The Giants are 28th in the NFL this season when it comes to rushing the ball. And given the Jets front four, it almost makes no sense for the Giants to stick with a running game. So the Jets can load up on extra guys in coverage, while keeping a very close eye on Odell Beckham Jr. Unfortunately, the football gods will not let us see the exciting matchup of Beckham vs Revis. But the Jets still have the weapons to limit his production. If Eli can’t throw to Beckham as much as he’d like, then I don’t believe that the Giants will have enough offensive production to beat the Jets.

Despite the records being so close, the Jets are a better team than the Giants and the Jets can beat the Giants in more ways than the Giants can beat the Jets. In my opinion, there are two ways that the Jets could potentially lose on Sunday. The first way is if they play sloppy Football with a lot of turnovers and penalties and ultimately beating themselves. The second way is if the Jets defense comes out flat which I don’t see happening because their defense has been solid all season. In the past four games, the defense has not given up more than 24 points. As a matter of fact, the Jets have only given up more than 24 points twice all season.

Here’s my prediction: The Giants offense is not good enough to have significant success against the Jets defense. On top of that, the Giants defense has a lot of holes. Not that the Jets offense is all that great, but it will be good enough against a defense like the Giants. Those two things will be the difference in the ball game. Jets win 21-14.