So that was a game. By definition, the Jets and Giants played a football game on Sunday. But it was far from an enjoyable one.
The Jets ‘rallied’ (using the term loosely) to beat the Giants in Week 8, as Greg Zuerlein kicked the game-tying and game-winning field goals between the end of regulation and overtime to give the Jets a 13-10 win, notching their third straight win and and moved over .500 for the first time since Week 1 at 4-3.
Despite the overall ugliness of the game, there were a few Jets that stood out and we’ll salute those players here. Behold the latest edition of “Studs and Duds”.
Stud - K Greg Zuerlein
Without the leg of Greg Zuerlein, the Jets don’t win this game because their offense certainly wasn’t winning it Sunday. That said, the offense did do enough to get Zuerlein well into field-goal range and Greg the Leg delivered from 35 to tie at the end of regulation and 33 to win in overtime.
Zuerlein is now 16 of 17 this season on field goals and 6 of 6 on extra points.
Stud - P Thomas Morstead
Special teams came up big for the Jets on Sunday. In addition to Zuerlein, punter Thomas Morstead had a busy but very productive day. Morstead punted 11 times against the Giants. He had reached 10 punts in a game just once in his career, back in 2015. He averaged 48 yards and 43 net yards per punt.
He also pinned the Giants inside the five-yard line three times. The Giants were forced to drive the field multiple times and, with all their injuries, struggled mightily to move the ball. Without Morstead constantly flipping the field, the Jets don’t have the ammo on defense to stay in the game the way they did.
Stud - WR Garrett Wilson
For the first time this season, Garrett Wilson reached 100 yards in a game, beating his previous season-high of 90 yards against the Eagles. 40 of his 100 yards came on the two drives that led to the tying and winning field goals. When the Jets needed Garrett Wilson, he delivered as usual. Now to get him back into the end zone. Wilson has not scored a touchdown since Week 2. A Monday night touchdown next week sounds good for Wilson.
Stud - DE Jermaine Johnson
The breakout season for Jermaine Johnson continues. Johnson scored two of the Jets’ four sacks on Giants quarterbacks Sunday and now leads the team with four. He also added four quarterback hits, six total tackles and two tackles for a loss. The Jets have so far scored a hat trick with their three 2022 first-round picks.
Stud - RB Breece Hall
One of the best parts about the Jets’ offense is now running back Breece Hall can break a big play at any given moment. He did just once again on Sunday. Late in the first quarter, Hall caught a simple check down near midfield. 50 yards and some poor Giants tackling later, Hall was in the end zone for a touchdown. The Jets didn’t have many highlights on offense but Hall’s touchdown was certainly one.
Dud - OC Nathaniel Hackett
The offense struggled as a whole on Sunday and a lot of that falls on the shoulders of offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Play calling continues to be an issue for Hackett and is certainly limiting what the Jets can do on offense. For example, Hackett decided to try going empty shotgun on a 3rd and 1. As we saw, it did not work and left may scratching their heads. Defense and special teams once again bailed out Hackett.
Dud - QB Zach Wilson
While Hackett did not do him any favors, Zach Wilson also didn’t do himself any favors by taking a few very unnecessary sacks. None bigger than the sack he took on fourth down with about 90 seconds left that almost doomed the Jets. Graham Gano’s missed field goal and the ensuing quick strikes by the offense bailed out Wilson. He even bailed himself out in a sense.
But overall, Wilson regressed from the Eagles game and needs to climb back up. Fortunately, the schedule still is favorable coming up for Wilson, so the opportunities are there to bounce back. But this version of Wilson won’t cut it.
