The Jets are worse than the tanking Dolphins but better than the supposedly urgent Giants.
Chew on that idea the NFL has revealed over the last two weeks.
Cue the five-alarm fire for Pat Shurmur and the Giants and a sigh of relief for Adam Gase and the Jets, who were in the conversation for worst NFL team after duds the last few weeks. The Giants responded Sunday: Hold my football.
Daniel Jones outplayed Sam Darnold in the boxscore but the Jets’ 34-27 win at their shared home of MetLife Stadium was more about which team was more inept: The Giants had the worse defense, the worse offensive line and the worse coaching adjustments on the way to a sixth straight loss.
Things got so bad for the Giants (2-8) they had to punt with less than three minutes remaining and no timeouts remaining because it was fourth-and-19 from their own 3-yard line. Allowing six sacks will create desperation.
Saquon Barkley carried 13 times for just 1 yard, while Le’Veon Bell looked like a hero by comparison with 18 carries for 34 yards and a touchdown. The Jets (2-8) scored the final 13 points.
The lead changed hands twice in the second half, with the Jets squandering a 21-13 lead by allowing 14 consecutive points and the Giants blowing a 27-21 lead by giving up the next 13 on three straight series.
Jones threw for 294 yards and, for the second time in eight career starts, threw four touchdowns. The first two went to Darius Slayton, the next two to Golden Tate.
Both 22-year-old quarterbacks came in with serious questions about ball security, but only Jones’ factored. He fumbled twice when Barkley offered no help in pass protection, and Darnold played a much-needed clean game, with a touchdown pass, a touchdown run and 230 yards passing.
Jamal Adams actually bowled over Barkley and ripped the ball out of Jones’ hands, returning it for a touchdown less than a minute into the second half. Seven weeks after suffering a high ankle sprain and in his fourth game back in action, Barkley’s limitations are obvious.
The Jets extended their lead to seven with 7:36 to play but the Giants had three more possessions with a chance to tie. Two resulted in punts and one was a lost fumble when the only hope was a lateral miracle.
The first half was a tale of two different quarters.
The Jets led 14-0 with advantages of 121-2 in yards and 9-1 in first downs at the end of the first. The Giants answered with two touchdown drives in the second, flipping the script with edges of 105-4 in yards and 7-1 in first downs.
The difference separating the teams — and putting the Giants in a one-point hole — was a botched PAT by the Giants because of a bad snap by Zak DeOssie. Holder Riley Dixon, a punter by trade, threw an incomplete pass.
How big was that missing point? It prompted the Giants to go for a two-point conversion to try for a tie score with 11:51 to go in the third quarter.
Tate, who scored a touchdown on a 61-yard catch-and-run, was flagged for offensive pass interference, taking two points off the board. Aldrick Rosas missed from 43 yards — his third straight game with a missed PAT — after the penalty yardage was enforced.
The Giants played most of the game without three injured offensive line starters — inactive center Jon Halapio and right tackle Mike Remmers, who were later joined by left tackle Nate Solder (concussion). At tackle, Nick Gates made his first NFL start and Eric Smith made his NFL debut.