Jets Squeak Out Injury-Filled Victory over Giants on Rainy Day at MetLife Stadium
The weather was ugly and the offensive performance wasn't much better.
On a dreary, rainy day at MetLife Stadium, the New York Jets came from behind for a 13-10 overtime victory over the New York Giants. In a defense-dominated game, where each offense managed only 12 first downs apiece, Jets' kicker Greg Zuerlein ended it by nailing a 33-yard field goal with 6:09 remaining in the extra session.
"A series of just sloppy ball all the way around, but they never ask how. They ask, 'how many?'" said Jets' third-year coach Robert Saleh after his team moved to 4-3 overall.
Prior to the game-winning kick, Zuerlein was responsible for forcing overtime by hitting a 35-yarder on the final snap of the fourth quarter. Zuerlein's equalizer was made possible by a couple of Giants' gaffes, starting with a missed 35-yard field goal attempt by Graham Gano, who could have all but iced the game with 28 seconds left.
Even after the miss, the Jets' chances were still bleak. Facing a 10-7 deficit, the Jets moved the ball 58 yards with no timeouts in 23 seconds to set the stage for Zuerlein.
The drive was aided by an offsides penalty by Kavon Thibodeaux, stopping the clock and allowing the Jets to save time after Garrett Wilson hauled in a 29-yard pass in the middle of the field. Wilson finished with a game-high 100 receiving yards on seven receptions. Thibodeaux tallied 3.0 sacks for Big Blue.
Jets' quarterback Zach Wilson struggled most of the day before hitting back-to-back 29-yard completions on the game-tying possession.
"We’ve obviously done it before in the past, getting us a big chunk with not much time left and being able to clock it. It was actually almost the same play, too," said Wilson after his fourth win of the season.
Wilson finished 17-of-36 passing for 240 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. His quarterback rating was a pedestrian 78.5.
"The kid's got a lot of resilience. He's got a lot of confidence in himself. There's things he knows he's gotta clean up," said Saleh.
There seemed to be more injuries suffered than points scored at one juncture in the rivalry game formerly known as the "Snoopy Bowl." The Jets lost two starting offensive linemen and a defensive tackle while the Giants were down to emergency quarterback Tommy DeVito as fill-in starter Tyrod Taylor suffered a rib injury that landed him in the hospital.
Jets' veteran defensive lineman Al Woods tore his Achilles and is done for the remainder of the season according to Saleh.
After center Connor McGovern and right guard Wes Schweitzer left due to injury and never returned, Saleh said the two will be evaluated further and more information is still needed. One day after being elevated from the Practice Squad, Xavier Newman was forced to step in at center. Tackle Billy Turner came off the bench to fill the right guard spot for the remainder of the game after Schweitzer exited with 4:20 left in the second quarter.
DeVito went 2-of-7 passing for -1 yard as the Jets' defense limited the Giants to 2.8 yards per play.
Jets' second-year edge rusher Jermaine Johnson was a menace to the Giants' passing game throughout the contest. He recorded 2.0 sacks and hit the quarterback four times.
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