A Jets Win in the Final Game at Giants Stadium Means Playoffs
For a franchise that has never had their own building and has a fan base that is starving for a contender, the Jets are in a remarkable position in the final week of the season. The Jets will host the Bengals in the last NFL game at Giants Stadium. What will make this game more memorable is that with a win, the Jets are in the playoffs. Giants Stadium will have a playoff-like atmosphere for the Jets on Sunday.
The magnitude of the game has caused the NFL to flex the game to an 8:30 pm start. A national audience will get the chance to watch a double feature. They’ll watch the last game at Giants Stadium and they’ll also see if the Jets can pull off a Wild Card birth that looked unattainable as recent as a week ago.
The Jets are in the classic scenario of “win and you’re in”. They’ll be hosting a Bengals team that may have nothing to play for. The Bengals have already locked up the AFC North and unless the Patriots lose earlier in the day, the Bengals cannot move up or down in the AFC playoff seedings no matter the outcome of their game with the Jets. That may mean the Bengals will rest their starters against the Jets. If the Jets win, the two teams will play a rematch in Cincinnati the following week in the first round of the playoffs.
I wonder who scheduled the Jets to play the final game at Giants Stadium? When the schedules were first released, it seemed absurd. Now it seems ingenious. Instead of the Giants playing the last game at the stadium in a meaningless game, it’s the Jets who are doing it in a game where a playoff birth is on the line.
The Giants’ finale at their stadium didn’t go so well. They looked flat and lifeless and lost to the Panthers 41-9. The Giants’ loss, combined with wins by the Cowboys and Packers, put an official end to the Giants’ playoff aspirations. The Jets hope not to follow suit. They have a chance to leave one final lasting mark on Giants Stadium.
