Related: Jets and Giants prepare for Week 5 coming off crucial losses
The Giants and the Jets each still have 10 games remaining on their 17-game schedule, well over half the season to play. But with each loss, they are losing a grip on their hopes to compete for a postseason spot.
The Giants 28-3 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on Sunday dropped them to 2-5, last in the NFC East. The Jets, after firing their former head coach Robert Saleh on October 8, haven’t shown it was the solution to their myriad issues. They are 0-2 since Saleh’s dismissal and 2-5 after being beaten by the Steelers in Pittsburgh on Sunday, wobbling in third place in the AFC East. The Giants will face the 5-2 Steelers on the road on Monday night and the Jets will be at the 1-6 New England Patriots on Sunday.
The Giants loss had a personal element as their former Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley returned to the Meadowlands for the first time since signing a three-year, $37.5 million free-agent deal with the Eagles last March. The Giants chose not to match those numbers and Barkley demonstrated why it may have been an imprudent decision.
He punished the Giants for 176 yards rushing and one touchdown and single handedly outgained them by 100 yards as New York had just 76 total on the ground. Barkley’s former Giants teammate, two-time All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, encapsulated the team’s general emotions about the 27-year-old, Bronx born star who was drafted No. 2 overall by the franchise in 2018.
“Like I said during the week, I know what kind of player he was to this organization and who he was to me,” said Lawrence. “So I have nothing but respect for him. I can’t control how other people feel about him, but I know who he is.”
Barkley is currently third in the NFL in rushing yards with 658. Conversely, without 2022 All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas, who last week had season-ending surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury in his foot, the Giants offensive line was overwhelmed by the Eagles, giving up eight sacks of quarterback Daniel Jones.
The Jets’ trade last week with the Las Vegas Raiders for three-time All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams didn’t immediately pay dividends for their struggling offense. Adams was targeted nine times by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but caught only three passes for 30 yards.
Adams had 622 receptions, 7,590 yards and 69 touchdowns with Rodgers as former Green Bay Packers teammates.
Rodgers said the Jets need an attitude adjustment and metaphysical transformation to help cure their ills.
On his weekly appearance Tuesday on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show,” Rodgers noted the Jets are “playing with too much anger and not enough enjoyment.” He added that “power of belief is a snowball that can start in an avalanche, and I think that’s what we need.”
Rodgers, who has performed below average thus far, rightly looked within with this self-critique. “It starts with me. I’ve got to bring the right energy every single day, and especially on game day.”
His words are meaningless, however, if they don’t manifest into victories.