It is a Jets fan’s worst nightmare, and should be: Jets 14, Giants 10, two minutes left, Eli Manning with the ball, and the season, and very possibly two seasons, and very possibly his coach’s job, in his hands.
Super Bowl XLII all over again. This one for the Bloomberg Trophy, which gives you the right to keep playing for the Lombardi Trophy.
It apparently is every last Jet’s nightmare, and should be.
“You could definitely see by the Dallas game what he can do,” Jets guard Matt Slauson said. “He is an incredibly talented player, so we have to make sure that we don’t keep it close. Because we can’t give him the opportunity at the end to go down and score.”
Manning is the anti-Rex Ryan, because he talks exclusively with the actions of his right arm rather than his words.
The Giants now need that right arm to talk loud and clear, the way it has so often this season, above the riotous din of eggnog-fueled Jets fans on Christmas Eve.
Jets-Giants is destined to be a 60-minute fight to the finish, last quarterback standing wins.
There is only one elite quarterback in this ARMaggedon, and he will be wearing No. 10, no matter what Ryan tells you.
Of course, the Giants fan won’t be feeling anywhere close to how he or she felt when Lawrence Taylor or Michael Strahan was around to play the part of Mariano Rivera, should Mark Sanchez have the ball at the very end.
Sanchez, like Manning, has a history of saving his best for last. Over the past two years, he has directed no fewer than eight fourth-quarter/overtime comeback victories.
Manning’s fourth-quarter passing numbers: 114-for-171 (66.7 percent) for 1,602 yards with 14 TDs and two INTs. A 111.8 QB rating, tops in the NFL, just ahead of Aaron Rodgers (66-for-97; 68 percent) for 897 yards with nine TDs and four INTs and a 111.1 QB rating.
Sanchez’s fourth-quarter passing numbers: 59-for-111 (53.2 percent) for 780 yards with nine TDs and one INT for a 98.9 QB rating, ninth in the NFL.
“Those situations happen, and when they happen, I’m excited to be the guy with the football in my hand making decisions,” Sanchez said, “and that’s kinda the way I’ve always been — give me the ball, and let’s make something happen and try to win the game.”
Jets linebacker Bart Scott knows the dangers Manning can present when he has the ball with the game on the line. But Scott knows his quarterback can instill some fear as well.
“You don’t want it to come with that,” Scott said. “That’s with anybody, I’m sure any Giants fan’s [fear] would be to have Mark Sanchez with the ball in his hand going down trying to do one of his last-minute game-winners. It’s worked both ways. Mark has a lot of game-winners this year, too. You never want it to come down to one possession.”
These are the moments when the franchise turns its lonely eyes to its franchise quarterback, and Manning (seventh in the NFL with a 91.7 QB rating) fits the profile more than Sanchez (16th in the NFL with an 82.2 QB rating) does at this juncture in their careers.
It doesn’t mean Sanchez isn’t capable, because the four playoff victories on his resume tell us the bigger the game, the better he usually plays.
It’s just that Sanchez has to worry about Jason Pierre-Paul wrecking the game for him, and Manning does not.
“You’d be crazy to say you haven’t noticed [Pierre-Paul],” Sanchez said. “He’s a great player, he finishes to the whistle, and I think that’s one of the biggest things, he’s just relentless.”
On the other hand, Manning, who won’t have the services of tight end Jake Ballard, has to worry about Darrelle Revis, and Sanchez does not.
“He’s not as fast as Michael Vick,” Revis said, and laughed. “But he’s a pocket passer and he’s one of the best in the league. He can make all the throws, and you gotta respect him, you gotta respect a guy like Eli Manning.”
Ryan certainly does.
“Look at the God-given ability he’s got — he’s a Manning, so that goes without saying,” Ryan said. “It’s in his blood. He’s smart. … He can make every throw. The guy might be the most accurate … down-the-field thrower in the league. He’s got tons of talent, a lot of weapons around him. … Remember, I said he was an elite quarterback early in the year. He is an elite quarterback, [but] hope he’s not an elite quarterback on Saturday.”
In a season where Manning would be in the MVP conversation were it not for Rodgers, Giants fans will be trusting their quarterback more than Jets fans will be trusting theirs.
“The ball’s on the money,” Revis said of Manning ‘s throws.
Sanchez was asked: Would you rather be the guy with the ball at the end of the game, or Eli, in that same situation?
“I mean, whatever happens, happens,” Sanchez said, “but if we need a touchdown to win, I think this team has confidence in me, and I got confidence in the guys around me.”
ARMageddon. Advantage, Giants.