The Jets looking to build a winning streak while the Giants are heading into the biggest NFL game MetLife Stadium has seen in a long, long time.
Every Wednesday, Baseline’s NFL experts will preview the New York Giants and New York Jets’ respective contests. Editor/founder Anthony Rushing and beat writer Geoff Magliocchetti offer their predictions in East Rutherford and beyond, with special attention dedicated to MetLife Stadium’s current tenants …
Cincinnati @ NY Jets
(1 p.m. ET, CBS)
Magliocchetti: Everything we’ve seen from New York Jets football post-Joe Namath warns us to take the thrilling, improbable, could-only-happen-to-the-Jets-if-it-didn’t-happen-to-Cleveland Week 2 victory with a relative grain of salt, no matter how high long-suffering supporters are flying. Doing so seems downright cruel.
Look, it’s perfectly fine, reasonably, and euphoric for Jets fans to revel in that win over the Browns. But there’s a sense of healthy reckless abandon, an aura of responsible celebration to carry after a game like that. It’s fair to have hopes that this Jets team is different from others if only because they actually capitalized on opportunities granted to them. The fact that young contributors like Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson played such major roles in the contest’s final decision also inspires great hope.
Exhilarating as last week’s victory was, it masked some glaring deficiencies in the modern Jets … namely defensive shortcomings that allowed 405 yards.
The Jets have a path moving forward, a blueprint to start to make things right. But asking this group to steal a victory from the defending Super Bowl finalists, the AFC champions who might be on the brink of oblivion, just feels like a tall, if not unreasonable, ask at this point on the franchise timeline. The 0-2 Bengals are angry enough and now they’re bringing their Ja’Marr Chase-led big-play potential to a local where their near-championship run sustained its ugliest blemish.
If the Jets are able to keep pace with the Bengals, that will feel like a win in of itself. That will feel like a letdown after the thrills by Lake Erie, but it’s the reality of the Jets’ cautious, if not hopeful, future.
Bengals 31, Jets 21
Rushing: Can the Jets ride the emotional wave from last week’s crazy win at Cleveland, into this week’s NFL action? If there’s anytime to establish momentum, Gang Green has an ideal opportunity on Sunday against the Bengals.
The Bengals are 0-2 with an offensive line that’s resembled an open turnstile to quarterback Joe Burrow. Jets head coach Robert Saleh’s background is defense, he needs to have his unit ready to go and get after Burrow from the start. If the Jets can rattle the O-line of the Bengals, the game’s half won.
Look for the offense to continue placing an emphasis on getting the ball to their youngsters, specifically Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson. Additionally, this is where having a veteran in the huddle, like quarterback Joe Flacco helps with a calming presence to keep the focus where it needs to be.
With the frustrated Bengals very much a threat to break loose, this week is a tall task for the Jets. We’ll see if they’re ready to take the next step with an opportunity to go over .500 for the first time since their 1-0 start in 2018.
Jets 24, Bengals 20
Dallas @ NY Giants
(Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Magliocchetti: Death, taxes, Cowboys-Giants in prime time.
Every game the seemingly resurgent Giants play is an opportunity to knock another landmark off their to-do list. Make a statement in Week 1? Check! Handle business against a struggling opponent in the home opener? Check!
A nationally win over the hated Cowboys, however, could be the biggest declaration yet. Dallas is far from the height of its powers (especially sans Dak Prescott) but probably saved its season by topping the aforementioned Bengals at home last weekend, dominating most of the contest before requiring a last-second field goal. A win would also be symbolic of the Giants’ shifting franchise perception: they’re 1-9 in the last 10 stagings of the long-standing NFC East rivalry. Shifting its momentum would be a perfect way to paint the division blue again, even if the early returns suggest that it’s Philadelphia’s to lose.
Are the Giants equipped to do that? Similar to the Jets, the fact they emerged on the right sight of the scoreboard masked was able to mask some deficiencies. In the Giants’ case, it’s an offense that only visited the end zone once in the 19-16 win over the Carolina Panthers. That doesn’t bode well against a Dallas defense, headlined by Micah Parsons, that has made its bread and butter by keeping teams out of the end zone, allowing only two touchdowns in the first two weeks.
The Giants and their fans are waiting for the other shoe to drop after beating out 26 teams on the potential path to NFL perfection. It’ll fall this week, though there’s potential for it to be a tap rather than a full-on knockout.
Cowboys 20, Giants 17
Rushing:
Are the New York Football Giants for real? We’ll get answers this week on Monday Night Football at MetLife Stadium.
A 2-0 start to the season has the fan base buzzing, rightfully so, about first-year head coach Brian Daboll. With every win, however, expectations will ramp up. The Giants, a team not many NFL experts picked to do much of anything this season, have an opportunity to show a national audience what they’re selling isn’t a fluke.
The Cowboys are banged up, starting their backup quarterback, and have their usual roller-coaster ride at head coach in full swing. They do, however, have arguably the best defensive player in the NFC East – Micah Parsons – ready to cause havoc in prime time. The G-Men must neutralize Parsons, a tall ask of their offensive line.
The key for the Giants, however, is – wait for it – Daniel Jones.
The Cowboys are going to key-in on taking away the impact factor that is Saquon Barkley. This places the point of attack on Jones and if he gets the ball downfield without mental errors. The Giants need more production from their wide receivers – calling Kenny Golloday to the podium here.
Jones has shown improvement this season – as a game manager. We need to see, however, if he’s ready to put the team on his back as a complete NFL quarterback.
Giants 31, Cowboys 20
Best of the Rest
| Magliocchetti | Rushing | |
| Pittsburgh @ Cleveland (Thu.) | Browns | Browns |
| Baltimore @ New England | Ravens | Ravens |
| Buffalo @ Miami | Bills | Dolphins |
| Detroit @ Minnesota | Lions | Lions |
| Houston @ Chicago | Bears | Bears |
| Kansas City @ Indianapolis | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| Las Vegas @ Tennessee | Raiders | Titans |
| New Orleans @ Carolina | Saints | Panthers |
| Jacksonville @ LA Chargers | Chargers | Chargers |
| Atlanta @ Seattle | Falcons | Falcons |
| Green Bay @ Tampa Bay | Buccaneers | Buccaneers |
| LA Rams @ Arizona | Rams | Rams |
| San Francisco @ Denver | 49ers | 49ers |
| Last Week: | 9-7 | 11-5 |
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
Baseline Sports NY is on Twitter @Baseline_NY
