Several Jets players this week said they don’t really remember the last regular-season game against the Giants, a 29-14 win for Big Blue on Christmas Eve 2011. For Jets fans, it’s a game they can’t forget.
Sunday’s matchup between the Giants and Jets brings back memories of that day, which was a pivotal game in the history of both franchises. For the Giants, it propelled them to another Super Bowl. For the Jets, it was the beginning of a downward spiral they are still trying to pull out of.
The Jets walked into MetLife Stadium that day (past the curtains covering up the Giants’ Super Bowl trophies) as a playoff contender. They have not been one since. They were 11 months removed from beating the Patriots in the playoffs, the biggest win in franchise history since Super Bowl III. They had been to two straight AFC Championship games, and it looked as if the Rex Ryan-Mark Sanchez marriage was built to last.
Then, Victor Cruz raced past Kyle Wilson, Antonio Cromartie and Eric Smith on his way to a 99-yard touchdown and the franchise was flattened like Brodney Pool trying to tackle Ahmad Bradshaw. In the 61 games the Jets have played beginning that day, their record is 24-37. In the 61 games before that day, their record was 37-24.
The game flipped things completely. The Jets have not returned to the playoffs since and have hovered between mediocrity and a complete train wreck. Former general manager Mike Tannenbaum felt that game was the beginning of the end for him. He was fired a year later. Ryan survived three more years, but that loss still stings so bad he can recite Eli Manning’s passing numbers off the top of his head (9 of 27).
Now, four years later, the Jets are trying to return to the playoffs. The arrival of Mike Maccagnan as general manager and Todd Bowles as coach has given the fan base renewed hope. An aggressive offseason helped them put their stamp on the team. But the Jets’ record is 6-5, which still screams mediocrity. The Jets have won consecutive games twice this season, but have not been able to win a third in a row — which they have not done since 2011, a few weeks before that Giants game.
Sunday is a chance for the Jets to flip the script. A win over the Giants could be the spark for a playoff run. The Jets shook out of their slump last week against the Dolphins, beating up on that hapless bunch, 38-20. That was a sign that the Jets might be able to recapture their early-season form that made them look like a playoff team.
The players and coaches can act as if this is just another game, but the atmosphere at MetLife Stadium will be different Sunday. The place will be colored in blue and red because it is a Giants home game, but there will be plenty of green and white in the stands. At houses and bars around the area, Jets fans will celebrate interceptions from Manning while Giants fans will point out how many Lombardi Trophies the team has.
If the Jets can win Sunday, it will be a momentum lift for the final month of the season. After the Giants, they play the Titans at home and then go to Dallas to face a Tony Romo-less Cowboys team that may just be playing out the string. If the Jets win the next three, they can be 9-5 entering the final two games with the Patriots and the Bills, where their playoff fate will be decided.
The last meeting between these two teams sent the Jets into a tailspin. This one could be the game that makes them a legitimate playoff contender again.