Ugly duel should have Giants, Jets focused on different futures

The Jets and Giants only meet every four years, and after Sunday’s debacle at MetLife Stadium, no one will be looking forward to their 2027 matchup.

For now, though, the Jets’ ugly 13-10 overtime win puts them back over .500 (4-3) and with the playoffs in sight.

But in addition to the unimpressive nature of Sunday’s win, which needed plenty of help from the Giants — who couldn’t pass after Tommy DeVito replaced the injured Tyrod Taylor and failed to get a late field goal from Graham Gano — it’s also worth remembering the Jets have been unable to sustain success in recent years.

They won four straight games last October, only to see their season unravel, first by losing two of their next three games and then finishing the regular season with a six-game losing streak.

Zach Wilson, who made just enough plays on Sunday in the fourth quarter and overtime, ended up playing so poorly at times last season that he lost his job to Mike White.

And for the most part on Sunday, he struggled.

As for the Giants, since beginning the Brian Daboll era by shocking the league with a 6-1 start a year ago, they’re 6-13-1 — including the two playoff games last season.

They’ve got a starting quarterback in the midst of a poor season, with Daniel Jones missing another game Sunday due to a neck injury, and a backup, Tyrod Taylor, who was forced to leave Sunday’s game to go to the hospital with an injury to his ribs.

That forced the Giants to turn to the undrafted rookie, DeVito, and work Saquon Barkley hard in the loss, as he set a career high with 36 rushing attempts.

Now 2-6, the Giants could be in line for a high draft pick, and they’ll have plenty of holes to fill if the first half of this season is any indication.

The Jets’ future is less dire, thanks to the fact that the team has given their fans a reason to stay tuned, with Aaron Rodgers hoping to have a reason to come back from his torn Achilles before the end of the season.

For a franchise that hasn’t finished above .500 since 2015 and has missed the playoffs every year since 2010, the longer they can stay relevant, the better.

Their next two games are against teams that are in the midst of disappointing seasons of their own in the Chargers and Raiders.

Victories in both of those games would put the Jets at 6-3 heading into their first matchup against the Dolphins, who are riding high and in first place in the AFC East.

For a team that looked like its season was over when Rodgers went down with his injury just four plays into the first week, it’s a scenario the Jets certainly would have signed up for at the time.

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Mad Max: Beyond Citi Field

Consider these insights from Max Scherzer, who starts for the Texas Rangers in Game 3 of the World Series on Monday in Arizona, with the series tied at 1-1.

“I’d say in my career, clubhouses can change,” Scherzer said. “And it only takes a few guys to change it. … For me, I feel like the guys we’re bringing in can do that, [and] can obviously change that.”

The right-hander added: “The culture can change. That’s a challenge, but a challenge we are willing to meet.”

Although Scherzer spoke in Arizona on Sunday in advance of his Game 3 start, those comments above came not from that press conference or even after he was traded to the Rangers this season, but when Scherzer signed with the Mets in Dec. 2021.

At the time, there was plenty of optimism surrounding the team and new owner Steve Cohen, despite the fact the Mets were coming off a 77-85 season.

For the first year of Scherzer’s tenure in Queens, he was right, as the Mets catapulted to a 101-win season before losing in the wild-card round to San Diego and then seeing the wheels come off this past season — which led to his departure.

But Scherzer could well have been talking about this year’s Rangers, who had six consecutive sub-.500 seasons heading into 2023.

Bruce Bochy took over for Chris Woodward and made an immediate impact, and now the Rangers are in the World Series for the first time in more than a decade.

Scherzer has pitched inconsistently and continued to battle health issues with Texas, but if he can deliver a strong performance in Game 3 on Monday — with MLB choosing to not play a World Series game on an NFL Sunday for the second straight season — they will no doubt look much more favorably on the deal that saw them take on a hefty chunk of Scherzer’s remaining contract, as well as ship highly ranked prospect Luisangel Acuña to the Mets.

Ben’s back and not better than ever

The Ben Simmons comeback tour heads to Charlotte on Monday night with the Nets the last Eastern Conference team without a win. 

The former No. 1 overall pick’s scoring isn’t back, but his assists and rebounds are.

But without more offense from Simmons, it’s hard to see how the Nets will be able to stay competitive, especially with Mikal Bridges off to a slow start.

Simmons, whose offense has been an issue throughout his career, hasn’t had a 20-point game since Nov. 22 of last season, when he put up 20 at Indiana.

He averaged 15.9 points per game in his four seasons with the 76ers, and has put up just 6.9 points per game in 44 games over his two seasons in Brooklyn.

And while his versatility has been on display and he’s come close to adding to his triple-double numbers, Simmons’ last one came on Jan. 17 against the Spurs.

The Nets have been in both of their season-opening losses, so just a bit more production in the scoring department could make a huge difference in Brooklyn.

What we’re reading

�� Zach Wilson was just good enough for the Jets to win on Sunday, but Mark Cannizzaro thinks the Jets will need a lot more from their starting QB than occasional glimpses of competence.

⚾ The Diamondbacks find themselves in a 1-1 World Series because, writes Joel Sherman, they have an offense that is “a changeup from the power game to which opponents are familiar.”

��  After their stunning loss to the Jets, the Giants season looks lost, writes Paul Schwartz.

�� St. John’s lost to Division II Pace University, but Zach Braziller found that isn’t reason for Rick Pitino for freak out.