Giants Can't Keep Pace with Dak and Cowboys

 COWBOYS 28 - GIANTS 20

Despite cashing in on a couple of Dak Prescott turnovers, the Giants couldn't slow down the Cowboys in the second half, as Dallas rolled up 430 yards of total offense in a 28-20 triumph at the House that Jerry Built on Thanksgiving Day afternoon.

The game could have been very different had a 24-yard touchdown pass by Daniel Jones to Isaiah Hodgins held not been nullified by an ineligible man downfield. As a result the Giants had to settle for a field goal, and a 3-0 lead. That moment helped change the complexion of the game, because in the first 30 minutes the Giants had outplayed Dallas.

New York's defense picked off Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott twice in the first half; one of which led to another Giants field goal before halftime. The Giants also answered Dallas' first touchdown with a long drive of their own that was highlighted by a 44-yard completion from Jones to Darius Slayton that set up shop at the Cowboys' one-yard line.

Two plays later Saquon Barkley plunged into the end zone for the score to put the Giants up 10-7.

Things completely changed in the second half.

Prescott caught fire and so did receiver CeeDee Lamb and tight end Dalton Shultz. The Cowboys would score touchdowns on each of their first three possessions of the second half to blow the game wide open at 28-13.

Prescott found Schultz twice in the end zone on Dallas' first two second half possessions as the 'Boys turned a 13-7 deficit into a 21-13 lead.

On their third possession of the half, Lamb totally took over. He had three receptions for 51 yards, and nearly had an acrobatic one-handed-tip-toe touchdown, but Lamb's feet were ruled out of bounds. Instead Peyton Hendershot carried it in from two-yard out for the games deciding score.

Jets Bench Zach Wilson for Mike White

 

The New York Jets have officially benched quarterback Zach Wilson for this week’s game against the Chicago Bears. Mike White will get the start on Sunday.

Wilson completed only nine of 22 passes for 77 yards in Sunday’s 10-3 loss to the New England Patriots. Following the game, Wilson gave a cryptic one-word answer when as if he felt he let the defense down by not getting the team into the end zone or even field goal range, Wilson said “no.”

That attitude coupled with wide negative reaction from teammates such as Garret Wilson, John Frankin-Meyers and Sauce Gardner may have been enough for Head Coach Robert Saleh and his staff to make a move.Although Saleh sidestepped that theory in Wednesday’s press conference. 

 

On Wednesday before Saleh spoke to the media, word broke that Wilson would be benched.

“We are going to roll with Mike White. We know he is fully capable in this league, and we want to give him an opportunity,” Saleh said.

“Zach’s career here is not over. The intent is to make sure Zach gets back on the field here this year. When that is I will make that decision day to day. There are some basic fundamental things that have gotten out of whack for him. This will allow him to reconnect with some of the things we fell in love with in the draft process.” 

Saleh wouldn't say when he would think about having Wilson return to the lineup. This is Mike White's chance to take the starting job and run with it. He was mighty impressive last year. If he is anything like we saw vs. Cincinnati and in the first quarter of a game against Indianapolis last year, the Jets will be ecstatic. Heck they will win games.  

Zach Wilson's Poor Play Costs Jets vs. Patriots

 PATRIOTS 10 - JETS 3

It shouldn't have come down to a walk-off punt return for a touchdown for the New England Patriots, but it did.

When Marcus Jones brought back a punt 84-yards for a walk-off touchdown in the final seconds of the Patriots 10-3 win over the Jets, it ended a frustrating afternoon for Gang Green. An afternoon where the Jets defense was once again fantastic, while the Jets offense, specifically quarterback Zach Wilson just couldn't get the job done. 

The Jets finished the day with only two yards of offense in the entire second half. Two yards. For his part Wilson completed only nine passes in 22 attempts for 77-yards. The effort was the fourth time this year Wilson finished a game with fewer than 160 yards passing, and fourth game where he completed less than 40 percent of his throws.

 While he didn't turn it  over, he was luck he didn't toss three picks, as the Patriots dropped the football each time -- the most obvious coming when Patriots safety Devin McCourty had a Wilson pass hit him right in the numbers and he couldn't hold on.

Wilson was missing badly. He was overthrowing receivers all over the place, including on screen passes -- such as the overthrows to wide open Braxton Berrios and Denzel Mims. He missed Garrett Wilson on a crossing route, which led to the receiver to visibly vent his frustration on the field and later to the media.

It was a nightmare.

When given a chance to take shoulder responsibility for the Jets inability to move the football, Wilson refused to answer.

By saying "no," Wilson showed great immaturity, and as a result, could end up losing favor in the locker room if he is not careful. He needed to be a leader, and that wasn't it. 

Now Wilson is starting to really hear it from both the media and the fanbase, many of whom are questioning whether the Jets should have benched Wilson in favor of back-up quarterback Mike White.

The Jets entered Sunday with a chance to take first place in the AFC East. They exit Sunday in last place, with questions once again surrounding their young quarterback and football team.

When asked about the Jets offensive play, Head Coach Robert Saleh called it dog-shit, but refused to say he thought about benching Wilson. 

The Jets face the Chicago Bears next week and quarterback Justin Fields, who has been dynamic this year, especially of late.  Fields was the other quarterback the Jets could have selected with the second overall pick two years ago, but were convinced that Zach Wilson was their guy. Now they will square off Sunday. 

If Wilson stinks it up again against Chicago, what more evidence do the Jets need that a chance has to come as soon as possible. Not just for the remainder of this year, but for the future as well.

Giants Get Burried by Lions in Trap Game

 LIONS 31 - GIANTS 18

Welp, chalk it up as the proverbial trap game. With a huge NFC East match-up against the Dallas Cowboys awaiting them on Thursday, the Giants had no answer for the Detroit Lions, who pulled out a convincing upset 31-18 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

While Daniel Jones threw for 341 yards, he did toss two costly interceptions, while Saquon Barkley was totally bottled up by Detroit's defense, which held the Pro Bowler to just 22 yards on 15 carries.
The loss drops Big Blue to 7-3 overall, and drops New York out of second place as the Cowboys alienated the Vikings later on Sunday afternoon. 

The Lions have now won three in a row, and find themselves suddenly in the wild card race in the NFC.

With the Giants leading 6-3 in the second quarter, Daniel Jones' pass for Darius Slayton was picked off by rookie Aiden Hutchinson at the Giants' own 18-yard line. Four plays later the Lions hit pay-dirt when Jamaal Williams scored on a four-yard scamper to put the Lions up 10-6. They would never look back.

Just before halftime, Lions quarterback Jared Goff connected with Amon-Ra St. Brown on a 32-yard completion that moved the football to the Giants' 28. Five plays later Williams was in the end zone again on a one-yard plunge to put the Lions up by a shocking score of 17-6 at the break.

The Giants did cut the Lions lead in half at 24-12, and had a shot to get back in the game early in the fourth quarter, but Jones' completion to Isaiah Hodgins resulted in a fumble. The Lions quickly pounded  it in for the touchdown four plays later, blowing the game wide open at 31-12.

MORE on FOX SPORTS NJ.

Will Jacob deGrom Ultimately Return to Mets?

 Will Jacob deGrom return to the Mets in 2023? That is the million dollar question that everyone has been asking for weeks. 

Earlier this month rumors swirled that deGrom was interested in signing with the Texas Rangers. Now the New York Post is reporting that the Mets believe deGrom wants to come back to the Mets if the contract offers re similar. 

Will it happen is anyone's guess. 

The belief is that deGrom wants to be one of the highest paid pitchers in the sport. His Mets teammate, Max Scherzer makes $43.3 million annually. 

Are the Mets willing to pay deGrom that much after missing much of the last two years with various arm injuries? The New York Post also reports that the Mets "do not view a four- or five-year deal (and even three years guaranteed might be stretching it) as prudent investment on a 34-year-old pitcher who has missed significant portions of the last two seasons with injuries." 

If that is true the Mets could let deGrom walk.

Justin Verlander, Carlos Rodon and Japanese flame-thrower Kodai Segna are potential replacements. 

Word was on Friday and Saturday that the Mets met with Senga and a serious about signing him. He is also following the Mets online. 

Senga will be 30 next season, and owns a 2.59 lifetime ERA in Japan. Last season he pitched to a 1.94 ERA in 144 innings, and struck out nearly 28 percent of the batters he faced.  

Would the Mets possibily sign both Senga and deGrom? That would be a helluva story if they can pull that off. 

Aaron Judge Named League MVP

 The inevitable is now a reality. Aaron Judge has been named American League MVP. 

 

After belting a club record and A.L. record 62 home runs this season and was the clear winner for the top prize. He received a total of 410 votes, 28 first place votes to beat out LA Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani.

Judge had a career year all the way around, leading the Yankees in hits with 177, and topping 130 runs and 130 RBI — something that hadn’t been done since A-Rod was a Yankee in 2007.

Judge is currently a free agent. 

See more on Fox Sports New Jersey 

Buck Showalter Earns NL Manager of the Year Award

 As if there was any doubt. 

 

New York Mets manager Buck Showalter was named National League Manager of the Year, becoming the first Mets skipper to ever win the award. It’s the fourth time Showalter, himself, has won it having won the award with the Yankees (1994), Rangers (2004) and Orioles (2014).

Showalter received eight first place votes and 10 second place votes to finish with 77 total points. LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts finished second with 57 points. Atlanta’s Brian Snitker finished third with 55 points.

Showalter guided the Mets to their most wins in a regular season since 1986 by winning 101 games this past season. 

More on Fox Sports New Jersey. 

Mets Ink Edwin Diaz to Five Year Deal

 The confetti only just settled down in Houston and the New York Mets are already busy at work at the off-season. 

The Mets inked closer Edwin Diaz to a five-year, $102 million contract that will keep in Queens for the long term. 

Diaz turned around his career the past couple of seasons, but broke out in 2022 when he recorded 32 saves and 1.31 ERA, earning a All Star appearance. 

Diaz's work became so automatic in 2022 for the Mets that his entrance song "Narco" became a global sensation. Not only did it turn the ninth inning into a party for Mets fans, but soon everyone wanted a piece of Diaz's entrance song.

The Mets even hosted Timmy Trumpet, the man behind the song at Citi Field in September when the Mets beat the Dodgers. 

The return of Diaz signals that the Mets are indeed serious about running back a team that won 101 games in 2022, with the hope that it can break through on a deeper playoff run in 2023. 

Diaz wasn't the only piece the Mets moved on. They accepted the player option on DH Daniel Voglebach.

 

Jets Pull Off Mega Upset of Bills

 JETS 20 - BILLS 17 

In what will go down as one of the most improbable wins of the season to date, the New York Jets defeated the Buffalo Bills 20-17 at MetLife Stadium by playing some of the most complete football of the season -- exactly one week after Gang Green's meltdown against New England. 

Led by spirited play from the Jets defense, and a incredible running attack in the fourth quarter, the Jets delivered to the Bills the humble pie they haven't tasted all season. All of sudden, the team most felt was a shoe-in for the Super Bowl is in a dogfight for the AFC East, and the Jets are now firmly on their heels. 

A game that started off so ominously for New York when Brandon Mann muffed the opening kick-off and was followed by Josh Allen hitting Stefon Diggs down the sideline for 42 yards,  quickly turned when Allen was picked off at the Jets 15-yard line by Jordan Whitehead. 

 While the Jets didn't do anything with that turnover, just the fact that Buffalo didn't score settled things down. 

Still it was an uphill climb for the Jets. Josh Allen was killing the Jets with his legs. He would run for 86 yards and two scores -- the only two touchdowns Buffalo would have on the day, as the Bills grabbed a 14-3 lead in the second quarter. 

The Jets never gave in. Offensive Coordinator Mike LeFluer simplified the game plan, and Zach Wilson didn't make the bad throw that would kill his team. Wilson made quick reads and found a way to methodically lead the Jets to a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive that ate up the final six minutes of the first half that included Wilson hitting on his final three passes of the drive. That all set up Michael Carter for the six-yard plunge to cut the Bills lead to 14-10. 

Suddenly the Jets had to know they had a shot. 

And they took full advantage. Perhaps the turning point of the game came when Allen was picked off by Sauce Gardner on a terrible read by Allen who never saw Gardner standing there. Four plays later, Wilson had the Jets in the end zone when he dumped the ball off to James Robinson who scampered in for the go-ahead score. 

Now it was up to the Jets defense, and boy were they up to the challenge. 

On their four possessions of the second half, the Jets held the Bills to just 43 yards off offense, and Josh Allen just couldn't get connected with his receivers down field as the Jets secondary was incredible. 

They held the Bills to a field goal and a punt, before getting the ball back to the Jets offense late in the fourth quarter with a little over seven minutes remaining. 

With the ball on their own four, this was the Jets chance to make something happen in a tied game. This was Zach Wilson's chance to take an eraser to last week's disaster vs. New England. 

And the Jets went right to their bread and butter as the first four plays were all runs. Jame Robinson gashed the Bills for 32 yards on three carries. Then Michael Carter chipped in a 17-yard run to the Buffalo 47. 

After an encroachment penalty, Carter and Robinson continued to lay waste to the Bills front seven before Wilson tossed his best pass of the day on a 12-yard slant to Denzel Mims to the Buffalo six-yard line that took the game down to the two-minute warning. 

The Jets would eventually kick the field goal, but the dye was cast. This was going to be Gang Green's day. 

And then the Jets defense finished off its masterpiece. Bryce Huff came charging off the weakside and slapped Allen's forearm, knocking the ball out of his hands, and putting Buffalo in an impossible third and 21. 

Allen would miss on his next two desperation throws as Sauce Gardner had Diggs totally lost in the sauce to end the game. 

What a thriller. What a moment. The Game, no, the upset of the year for the New York Jets. At 6-3 as the Jets enter the bye, they are in the thick of the AFC East race.

Kyrie Irving Suspended by Nets for Anti-semitic Social Media Post

There is no turning back now.

 The Brooklyn Nets have had enough, suspending controversial and talented guard Kyrie Irving for at least five games after he failed to "unequivocally" apologize for sharing a link last weekend on Twitter to a video "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America" that lampoons Jews with many false claims. 

The Nets tried to smooth things over with Irving. They protected him from speaking with the media on Monday and Tuesday of this week, even after owner Joe Tsai condemned Irving's posts over the weekend. 

 

They tried to work with Irving and the Anti-Defamation League by agreeing to pay $500,000 a piece to educational opportunities for communities to better understand and accept all races, creeds and religions. 

Even commissioner Adam Silver waited until Thursday before condemning Irving's posts and remarks.

In reality the final straw came Thursday when Irving refused to apologize for his posts, and refused to answer a reporters question that Irving, himself, is not antisemitic.  VIEW ON TWITTER

"This is not going to turn into a spin around cycle of questions after questions. I told you guys how I felt. I respect all walks of life. I can’t be antisemitic if I know where I come from." 

The Nets soon issued a statement expressing their disappointment in Irving for not apologizing.  Jonathan Greenblat of the ADL quickly re-tweeted his appreciation for the Nets swift action. 

 The question is is Irving's career over in Brooklyn? Most likely. There is no way this kind of behavior can be tolerated. The NBA was one of the first in to jump on the social justice movement two years ago in light of the George Floyd atrocity that took place in Minnesota. They should be first in line here as well -- even if it took them and the Nets almost a whole week to respond with a punishment, amid criticism.   Racism and bigotry in any form should not be tolerated. Ever. 

The Nets have made a lot of mistakes over the past week. They fired a good man in Steve Nash, as General Manager Sean Marks continued to give autonomy to the players like Irving and Kevin Durant. Neither respected Nash, and despite the former Phoneix Suns' MVP's best efforts, he couldn't win with a dysfunctional team. 

Now they are rumored to be interested in hiring Boston's Ime Udoka, who was suspended for a year for sexual harassment allegations against a former female employee, with whom Udoka had a "inappropriate" relationship.

Talk about bad timing and tone deaf? The Nets are about to from the frying pan to the fire should they hire Udoka. Instead of just eight Jewish people sitting court side to protest antisemitism, as was the case this week, the last thing they want to deal with is the #MeToo movement coming to their doorstep. 

The Nets have embarrassed themselves this week. They jumped into the fire by giving superstar players too much power, and now they are paying the price.  Only they can fix it.

Wife of Giants Super Bowl Winning Coach Tom Coughlin, Passes Away

 Judy Coughlin, the wife of two-time Super Bowl winning Head Coach Tom Coughlin, passed away Wednesday morning. She was 77.

A devoted supporter of her husband throughout his Hall of Fame-bound career from Boston College to Jacksonville and New York, Judy Coughlin was well known in the Tri-State area, as well as the NFL community as a whole, for her philanthropic work through the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund, which provides comprehensive financial, emotional, and practical support to families affected by childhood cancer.

The fund was established in memory of Jay McGillis, a safety on Coughlin's Boston College teams who died of leukemia at just 21 years old.

In 2020 Mrs. Coughlin was diagnosed  with progressive supranuclear palsy a incurable brain disorder. As has been reported by other sources, Tom Coughlin became her caregiver in recent years.

See more on Fox Sports New Jersey.