It’s Christmas week, and like they say, there’s no place like New York at Christmastime — unless you’re a Jets or Giants fan. Then you’d rather be literally anywhere else. Especially when you have to watch the Eagles win the NFC East. Again.
There’s no need to dive into full game recaps this week. Both teams lost. Water is wet. Instead, let’s make one last-ditch effort to send Santa our Christmas list for the Jets and Giants and see if the North Pole can do what these franchises seemingly can’t.
The Jets
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A defensive interception — they’ve now gone 15 consecutive games without one
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An offensive line — because Brady Cook was getting absolutely cooked today
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Defensive line talent
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Wide receiver depth
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A quarterback — which actually feels possible with the high draft pick they’re headed for, since no one expects the Giants to beat the Raiders next week
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A will to play — while I think Aaron Glenn deserves another year to implement his culture and build depth, it’s been awfully bleak watching this team on his watch
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Fans to show up for the final home game against the Patriots — this would truly be a Christmas miracle
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Ownership taking a long, hard look in the mirror and recognizing they ultimately created this never-ending mess that never seems to get cleaned up
I’m hoping that list isn’t too much for Santa, because we still need to get to the Giants who played a lifeless game in front of a lifeless crowd at MetLife Stadium. The Giants only trailed by three points for most of the game, but you would’ve thought they were down four scores with how scared they played.
The Giants
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A sane fanbase — sorry Santa, this one’s personal. They want to draft Heisman trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and give up on Jaxson Dart already, even though he only had Brian Daboll for a few games and Mike Kafka after that.
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A head coach that can… well, coach — the Giants don’t look any different under Mike Kafka than they did under Daboll. Kafka is a fine OC, but as a head coach? Not so much.
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A new general manager — Joe Schoen told us “scared money don’t make money,” but I’m curious how he thinks that’s working out so far. The team is now 2–13 under his “vision” with a roster he built.
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To never see Darius “Drops” Slayton again — unfortunately, due to years of poor depth-building, we’re stuck with him. How many more crucial catches will he drop over the final two games? Wonder if there is a prop bet on that.
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A new punter — we’ve seen enough of Jamie Gillan
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A speedy recovery for Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo
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To never hear Jonathan Vilma in the booth ever again
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An explanation for why Roger Goodell keeps popping up at Giants games — my guess? He simply can’t believe what he’s seeing and is wondering what we’re all wondering… what exactly goes on here?
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Ownership recognizing their own shortcomings and realizing they’re getting in the way of progress.
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A competent defensive coordinator — we had one in Wink, but I’ll save that story for another time.
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A complete culture change
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An actual reason for fans to keep watching this team
I could keep going, but I think I’m pushing it with 20 total items between both teams and especially this close to Christmas. Maybe, just maybe, Santa delivers at least one present to each franchise.
At the very least, I hope both ownership groups do some serious soul searching as they pick up the pieces of yet another lost season.
Again.
