For the first time in two decades, the New York metropolitan area's two NFL teams—the Giants and Jets—are both on track to make the playoffs with winning records.
Between 2017 and 2021, those two squads ranked last in their respective conferences with horrendous matching 22-59 records. But now, after the Jets shocked the Buffalo Bills during the Giants' Week 9 bye, those two are 6-3 and 6-2, respectively. Both are sitting pretty in wild-card spots and remain in contention in their divisions as well.
So between Gang Green and Big Blue, which MetLife Stadium denizen is in better shape for the short and long term? Let's compare 'em.
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What the stats say about this season
Using the simple rating system (SRS) at Pro Football Reference, which combines point differential and strength of schedule to measure a team's performance above or below average, the Jets rank seventh in the NFL and the Giants rank 12th.
Meanwhile, in terms of DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) at Football Outsiders, the Jets rank 8th and the Giants 19th.
Both defenses have surrendered exactly 19.6 points per game, but only a handful of teams have better defensive DVOA totals than Gang Green's. Meanwhile, the Jets offense has also been slightly more productive in terms of scoring, yardage and red-zone production.
The Jets are outscoring generally tougher opponents by 2.2 points per game, compared to 0.8 for the Giants.