New York football teams moving in opposite directions

The two “New York” football teams took very different routes yesterday. The New York Giants headed into Week 16 needing to win its game against the Carolina Panthers and the Packers or Cowboys to lose their game. Simple enough right? Well, Yes, especially when you consider what the New York Jets needed to happen. The Jets needed to win, but they also needed four teams to lose on Sunday.

The Jaguars needed to lose to the Patriots, the Dolphins needed to lose to the Texans, the Ravens needed to lose to the Steelers, and the Broncos needed to lose to the Eagles. Add those with the Jets needing to beat the undefeated Indianapolis Colts and you have a unlikely 5 step scenario. As unlikely as it was, it happened.

The Indianapolis Colts decided to remove many of their starters from the game in the third quarter and the Jets took advantage. New York won the game 29-15 and are now just one win away from the AFC playoffs.  If the Jets beat the Cincinnati Bengals next week, they are in.

The Jets were down 15-10 when Indianapolis coach Jim Caldwell decided to take QB Peyton Manning out of the game. Also going to the bench were stars, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. Manning was replaced by a rookie QB, Curtis Painter. The Jets took advantage, blitzing more often and completely overwhelming the rookie, forcing two turnovers.

The Jets used a solid running game all day and rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez controlled the game without turning the ball over.

So the New York Jets are on the verge of the playoffs. They need to beat the Bengals next week. Cincinnati is another team that may not play its regulars the entire game. The Bengals have already clinched the AFC North. This game has been moved to NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Its also the final game at Giants Stadium.

The Giants played their final game at the stadium this past week, also needing a win. With a win, the Giants would have needed the Packers or Cowboys to lose one of their final two games. It didnt matter. The Giants came out with absolutely nothing. It looked like a team that was out of playoff contention for a couple months. The St. Louis Rams could have put up a better showing then the Giants did this week. The Giants defense was pathetic, showing no heart, and frankly no game either. They allowed Carolina Panthers back up running back Jonathan Stewart to rush for 206 yards, the most ever against the Giants at Giants Stadium. Giants running back Brandon Jacobs rushed six times for one yard..ONE YARD! Quarterback Eli Manning had a decent game but threw two interceptions. The entire team showed nothing in this game.

Missed tackles, dropped passes, just all around poor play.

I think some major changes could come down as a  result of this game. Defensive coordinator Brian Sheridan’s job should be looked at very very closely. His unit played poorly for most of the season and has not shown any fight or heart lately.

Sunday’s loss was embarrassing. Disgusting might be the only other way to describe the effort, or lack of.