The stakes will be higher than they should be for both the Giants and the Jets on Sunday at MetLife Stadium … higher than the Empire State Building.
The Giants made the bed they are sleeping in, and the Jets had the bed they are sleeping in made for them when Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles four plays into their much-ballyhooed Flight 23 season.
In a league where any given Sunday can be the Sunday that costs you a playoff berth, neither team can afford to lose this game.
The 2-5 Giants cannot afford to be 2-6.
The 3-3 Jets cannot afford to be 3-4.
The Tyrod Taylor Giants saved their season against the Commanders. With a pair of games against the Eagles and one on the road against the Cowboys later this season, they better save their season again two days before Halloween, or their disenchanted fan base will begin pondering another winter of their discontent.
The Zach Wilson Jets filled their fan base with euphoria by shocking the Eagles, and losing to the Tyrod Taylor Giants would let the air out of the hot air balloon.
“The gravity of this game,” Jets defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson told The Post, “is insane, ’cause we got our whole future ahead of us, and right now, we’re in full control of our destiny. Everybody when the year starts sets out to win the Super Bowl, and in order to do that, it’s easier when you win your division. We win this, it keeps us in control of our destiny, and then still in the fight in the grand scheme of things to win this division.”
How damaging would a loss be?
“I don’t even want to think about that or even talk about that,” Jefferson said.
With Rodgers sidelined and Daniel Jones (neck) yet to be cleared for contact, this Backup Quarterback Bowl will keep hope alive for one franchise, and mire the other in instant regret and self-doubt.
To the victor belong the spoils:
For the Zach Wilson Jets, the possibility of a great awakening would be in sight: If they beat the Giants then the Chargers at home and Raiders in Las Vegas, they would carry a five-game winning streak into Buffalo.
For the Tyrod Taylor Giants, beat the Jets then the Raiders in Las Vegas, perhaps with Jones back, and they would carry a three-game winning streak into Dallas.
“We definitely need a win,” Giants safety Dane Belton told The Post. “We need to get back on track and stack wins together. It is an important game for the city, but also in the regular NFL season. Getting close to crunch time when we need to keep stacking ’em.”
The Giants cannot truly believe that they have turned a corner unless they can defend MetLife Stadium from the Jets.
“They’re starting to look a lot like the team that made the playoffs last year,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said Wednesday.
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Maybe not a lot. The team that made the playoffs last year was a smart, tough and dependable revelation that weathered adversity. That has made this fall that much harder to stomach for Giants fans.
With a touchdown these days a veritable cause for celebration, Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and his boys will be asked to hound Wilson the way they hounded Sam Howell.
With two weeks to prepare for the Giants following the bye week, there should be no reason why Saleh cannot make life miserable for Taylor with a defense that has been talking about being the NFL’s best for what seems like an eternity.
When you announce that you have embarrassed the likes of Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts, no one will want to hear any excuses if you fail to embarrass Tyrod Taylor.
Brian Daboll’s 2022 Giants raised the expectations for this season, and GM Joe Schoen added speed on both sides of the ball, including tight end Darren Waller.
No one saw 2-5 coming, and 2-6 would be the Fat Lady clearing her throat.
“It would hurt for sure,” Darius Slayton told The Post. “Two and 6 is definitely not where you want to be at Week 8, but if that we’re to be the case, we just have to fight that much harder to make up for it on the back end.”
Wilson was supposed to watch Rodgers from the sidelines all season.
With the Bills, Cowboys, Chiefs and Eagles over the first six games, 3-3 would not have been shocking even with Rodgers.
Of course, we have learned that schedules can appear forgiving on paper and turn into something else entirely. Sometimes it’s not who you play, but when you play them.
But if the Jets are who they thought they were, they cannot lose to any 2-5 team and trudge out of MetLife Stadium 3-4.
Sure it is fun to own bragging rights every four years. But there is a much bigger picture in focus.
The Jets are desperate to end a 12-year playoff drought, not to mention a 54-year Super Bowl drought.
The Giants haven’t won a championship since Super Bowl XLVI.
“I don’t think any game is our Super Bowl,” Giants receiver Isaiah Hodgins told The Post. “I don’t think win or loss is gonna make or break our season. I think a win would obviously help more than a loss.”
Game of Survivor. For the Giants. And for the Jets as well.
