Both the New York Giants and Jets went into their week four games on Sunday with an 0-3 record. Through three weeks of play, the Giants and Jets have been outscored by their opponents 95-83 and 94-47, respectively. However, both Big Apple teams came out on top with overtime wins in each game, the first time in NFL history that both the Giants and Jets have won an overtime game on the same day.
The G-men, coming off two losses due to game-winning field goals, were starving for a win this past weekend when they marched into the Superdome over the weekend to face the New Orleans Saints. New York broke into the win column after quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley combined for over 450 yards from scrimmage as the Giants would come out on top in an electrifying overtime finish.
Despite losing, the Saints welcomed fans back to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for the first time since Hurricane Ida struck New Orleans in August of this year. The Giants were the first team to put points up on the board when John Ross hauled in a 52-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Jones with 8:51 left to play in the second quarter. New Orleans would answer back with a methodical 13 play, 75-yard drive that ended in a Jameis Winston touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson before the end of the first half.
Alvin Kamara led the Saints rushing attack for the day with 26 carries for 120 yards on the ground. Kamara and the Saints dominated the Giants in the ground game, outrushing Big Blue 170 yards to 83. However, the Saints failed to get Kamra the ball through the air, which hurt them in the long run. A Taysom Hill touchdown run gave the Saints a 14-7 lead, but not before the Giants responded with a field goal to make the score 14-10 going into the fourth.
New York would give up another Taysom Hill touchdown run three minutes into the fourth quarter, giving the Saints a 21-10 advantage. Despite being down 11 points late in the game, the Giants offense would rally behind quarterback Daniel Jones, who had a career game with 402 passing yards. Jones threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Saquon Barkley and converted a two-point conversion which gave New York hope with 6:52 left in regulation. After forcing New Orleans to punt the ball on seven plays, the Giants would cap off a 59-yard drive with a game-tying field goal with 31 seconds left in the game.
After winning the coin toss to start overtime, the Giants would orchestrate a 9 play, 75-yard drive which culminated in a Saquon Barkley touchdown to end the game 27-21.
Just over 1,300 miles away in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the New York Jets hosted the Tennessee Titans at Metlife stadium. Like the Giants, the Jets were looking to get their offense rolling on Sunday. Their offense averages only about 276 yards per game, which sits as the fourth-worst in the league.
New York’s rookie, first-round quarterback Zach Wilson, struggled early on Sunday, throwing his eighth interception of the year to defensive back Kristian Fulton, which culminated in a Titans’ field goal making the score 9-0 with 10:29 to go in the first.
While Zach Wilson and the Jets’ offense played well, producing 355 yards in total offense, it was the defense who shined on Sunday. New York’s front seven compiled a total of seven sacks against Ryan Tannehill and the Titans’ offensive line. Quincy and Quinnen Williams dominated in the trenches, combining for a total of three sacks and 19 tackles.
Even with the absences of star wide receivers A.J. Brown and Julio Jones, the Titans’ offense still managed to put up 430 total yards of offense against Robert Saleh’s defense. Titans’ running back, and 2020 NFL rushing leader, Derrick Henry who piled up 172 yards from scrimmage, found the endzone early in the fourth quarter on a one-yard touchdown run to give the Titans’ 17-10 lead over New York.
During the Jets’ next drive, rookie Zach Wilson orchestrated a methodical, 77-yard drive that ended in a touchdown pass to veteran wide receiver Jamison Crowder. The Jets would receive the ball again two minutes later after a Tennessee Titans punt. New York began the drive on their own 47 and ended one play later after Corey Davis hauled in a 53-yard bomb delivered from Zach Wilson, giving the Jets a 24-17 lead late in the fourth. However, with 16 seconds left to play, Tennessee would answer back with a game-tying touchdown catch from Ryan Tannehill to Cameron Batson.
After a 71 yard drive, the New York found themselves in Tennessee’s 20 yard-line. After three plays in the red zone, Zach Wilson completed an eight-yard pass to Tevin Coleman to make it third and goal on the one. Nonetheless, the Titans’ defense was able to hold the Jets to a field goal. But luckily for the Jets, Randy Bullock’s 49-yard field goal attempt failed, giving New York their first win of the 2021 regular season.
The New York Giants play the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday at 4:25 p.m. while the New York Jets will be traveling overseas to London to face off against the Atlanta Falcons at 9:30 a.m.