With week three in the books I’m excited to be writing this post in the wake of two big wins. It almost feels like “paradise” compared last season. The Jets set the tone for the weekend with a blowout of the Patriots and the Giants capped the weekend with a critical win in Cleveland. Let’s get into how both got the job done and what lies ahead.

Jets

Any discussion of how the Jets hammered the Patriots 24-3 begins and ends with the man under center. Aaron Rodgers put on a clinic last Thursday night, plain and simple, going 27/35 for 281 yards and two touchdowns. He spread it around to eight different receivers, and connected with Allen Lazard and Garrett Wilson for his touchdowns. Rodgers was in complete control, putting in the best QB performance the Jets have seen probably since Vinny Testaverde. That may sound hyperbolic but it doesn’t feel like it. With the protection he’s been seeing, Rodgers can attack just about any defense, and it really makes the Jets dangerous every week. Rodgers is of course flanked by a tandem of backs that is emerging as a real force, as Breece Hall and Braelon Allen had another big game together, combining for 109 yards and a touchdown.

While the offense did their job, the defense balled out too, racking up seven sacks. They were led by second year man Will McDonald who picked up two more sacks to push his season total to five. McDonald’s emergence comes at a key time as the Jets are looking for pass rush production with Jermaine Johnson out and Hassan Reddick still unsigned. The secondary almost got to take the night off as the Patriots were not able to throw the ball at all. While it wasn’t the best competition it’s refreshing to see the defense play a stout game after struggling early in the year.

Week four will see the Jets welcome to the Broncos to the Meadowlands for a rematch of last year’s week three matchup in Denver. The Broncos are coming off a surprising win against Tampa Bay last week, but don’t let that fool you. This Denver team isn’t good and their is now tape out on the adjustments they made last week offensively. Rob Saleh and company should be able to game-plan this well and have the Broncos offense handled. They took care of business against a bad Patriots team, now it’s time for the Jets to do it again.

Giants

Unlike the Jets who set the tone early against New England, the Giants came out and picked up where they left off the previous week on DC. They began the game in Cleveland by fumbling the opening kickoff and then allowing the Browns to score a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. It felt like the beginning of another long day at the office, especially when Jones threw a seemingly costly INT. But the pick was wiped out by penalty and that gave way to one of the stars of the weekend balling out.

Daniel Jones got hot and his connection to Malik Nabers continued to grow in this one, as number one had eight catches for 78 yards two TD’s. There is no denying how special a talent Nabers is, who will clearly grow into a better and better player this year and beyond. The upside is scary for opponents as long as Nabers continues to show maturity off the field. Nabers was complimented by a nice game from running back Devin Singletary, who ran for 65 yards on 15 carriers and one TD, while also having four catches for 43 yards. This was the kind of balanced performance big blue was hoping for from Singletary, long may it continue. These two combined with Daniel Jones to do enough to put 21 points on the board, it wasn’t always pretty, but that didn’t matter.

Perhaps more important than the offense finding some rhythm was the Giants defense finally stepping up. Deshaun Watson and an injured o-line can make even the worst units look good, but this was an all around good performance for the stop troops. This strong defensive performance was led by Brian Burns, who had his first big performance in a Giants uniform. Burns wrecked this game with one sack, one forced fumble and two pass deflections, a solid all around game for number zero. Burns and company have to keep this going if the season is going to get turned around, especially against talented offenses.

Ultimately the 21-15 win in Cleveland was exactly what the Giants needed. Not that because they won, but that they did enough right to try and build on it. An 0-3 start would have been disastrous for the Giants, who haven’t even hit the meat of the schedule yet. But now at 1-2, they get ready to host a reeling Cowboys team who they have owed one to forever. Dallas for all their talent has been a mess since their week one win over the Browns, and they look extremely vulnerable this week. If Brian Daboll can have this group ready to go Thursday night on a short turnaround in the rain, this game becomes very winnable. At 2-2 with eleven days off ahead of them, this week four tilt with their rivals presents a real chance a reset, one they have to seize!

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