Jets Lose Sanchez But Beat The Giants In The Battle Of New York

The annual Jets-Giants clash was not for the faint of heart. In fact, I wish I would have fainted while watching this debacle. The game was a collection of poor quarterbacking, awful kicking, and a huge injury. Add in some questionable coaching and it had all the makings of a terrible preseason game.

That the Jets won in overtime, yes overtime, 24-21 thanks to Tom Coughlin going for a tying field goal in the final minute of regulation.

While robot pundits will bemoan Jets coach Rex Ryan using Mark Sanchez in the fourth quarter, because pundits don't think for themselves, it was virtually every other offensive player who should be ashamed about this quagmire of a game.

Sanchez was brought in for Geno Smith in the fourth quarter. Smith was brutal, throwing three picks and stepping out of bounds giving the Giants a safety. Two of the interceptions Smith threw were grotesque in his first meaningful action, and only lengthy action in the preseason.

Sanchez was hurt after completing a pass to newly acquired Mohammed Massaquoi in the fourth period with the Jets trailing at the time 18-14. Sanchez got hit by the Giants Marvin Austin. He suffered a shoulder injury, the extent will be known after an MRI on Sunday most likely.

Matt Simms came in, and hit a nice touchdown pass to Ryan Spadola giving the Jets a 21-18 lead. It would have been 21-16 if not for Geno Smith committing a rookie blunder trying to make a play deep in his own territory. Smith, trying to throw the ball away while on the run, stepped on the end line for a free two points for the Giants and a 15-14 Giant lead.

Up until then the Giants were pretty much atrocious on offense as well. Except for David Wilson scampering 84 yards on the first play of the game, the Giants offense was dismal.

Eli Manning was only 8/20 for a scant 82 yards and a puny 4.2 yards per pass play. Curtis Painter, his replacement is the definition of stink. He couldn't move the club. The Giants did not play David Carr or Ryan Nassib, but they should have. Painter might have been the WORST QB suiting up.

Coughlin decided four quarters of this stink fest wasn't enough. After a Giants drive stalled deep inside Jets territory with 37 seconds left, Coughlin had Josh Brown tie the score at 21 with a 40 yard field goal. No coach plays for OT in the preseason. The Giants last OT preseason game was back in 1985.

Then in OT, the Jets took over owning the absurd. Coughlin "iced" kicker Nick Folk and he missed a 39 yard field goal try. The Jets, being the Jets, then moved the ball deep into Giants territory. This time Rex Ryan sent Billy Cundiff on to try and win the game with a 39 yard field goal. With Coughlin still in "ice the kicker mode" Cundiff missed the kick, another 39 yarder.

However, Coughlin trying to ice the kicker happened before the kick. So dismayed was Ryan he sent the offense back on the field until he gained more yardage and decreased the chances of another Cundiff miss. Cundiff made a 32 yard field goal, ending this disgraceful game in front of mostly empty seats in a game that the NFL should order the game film torched and never to bee seen by anyone, at anytime, ever again!

The Jets finish up the preseason against the Eagles. The Giants finish up against the Patriots. Both games are this coming Thursday. Both teams could use like 4 more exhibition games the way they played offensive football Saturday night.