The Jets aren’t making the playoffs. That’s a certainty.
They are 2-7 after losing 35-12 to the Kansas City Chiefs on the road last Sunday. The Jets are only one game ahead of the 1-7 Miami Dolphins for last place in the AFC East division and six games behind the 7-1 Buffalo Bills – who they host this Sunday at MetLife Stadium – in the loss column.
Conversely, the 5-2-1 Giants are in first place in the NFC East. They sit above the 4-5 second place Dallas Cowboys and are at home tonight at MetLife to play the 2-5-1 Washington Commanders. Logically, before this past Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, the Giants would endeavor to enhance their roster, addressing areas that need to be reinforced and the Jets would perhaps look toward the future by acquiring draft picks for some of their more desirable assets.
But neither team executed a major trade. The only deal either made was the Jets trading safety Andre Cisco, a six-year NFL pro and Syracuse University product who was in his second season with the Jets before being moved to the Detroit Lions for a 2029 sixth-round pick. Cisco appeared in all nine games for the Jets and had 23 tackles (17 solo) and one sack.
Last week, Giants head coach John Harbaugh admitted that the team pursued Indianapolis Colts’ 27-year-old, three-time Pro Bowl running back Jonathan Taylor, who starred at Salem High School in Salem, New Jersey, but rescinded the offer made to the Colts for reasons he did not reveal. The cerebral Taylor, who played college football for the University of Wisconsin and was recruited heavily by Harvard and other Ivy League schools, is currently eighth in the league in rushing with 656 yards.
The Giants’ leading rusher is Cam Skattebo with 418. As a team they are 17th in rushing yards among the NFL’s 32 teams, gaining 897 and averaging only 3.9 yards per carry.
Despite not providing details on the Taylor trade discussions with the Colts, Harbaugh did elaborate on preparing for a game on a short week with the possibility of adding players via trades.
“Maybe we could bring a guy in. He could just practice Wednesday and play, but it would be kind of hard to imagine a guy coming in and just playing with one day here, I think. So, I’d probably assume that wouldn’t be possible,” he said. So, you’d be thinking more about the next week, which would give us plenty of time to get the player ready.”
The Jets have three first picks in next April’s draft so there was no urgency to add more draft capital at the trade deadline.
Yesterday (Wednesday), Giants linebacker Arvell Reese, the No. 5 selection in last April’s draft, who is having an outstanding rookie campaign, was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 9 of the NFL season after recording 12 tackles and three sacks against the 2-7 Philadelphia Eagles on the road on Sunday in the Giants’ 19-11 win.
