Hard Knock (Met)Life: How Will Jets, Giants Rebound Following 0-2 Starts

Published: Thursday, September 18, 2025

by Ross Vocaturo

It seems like every year the buzz around football in New York City is the same: built up optimism that quickly spirals into annual delusion.

This is followed by countless players being at the forefront of blame, two head coaches and general managers whose job security are called into question on a weekly basis, and ownership groups who are viewed with much disdain by the majority of their respective fanbases. Through two weeks of the 2025 NFL season, things seem to be going no different.

The Jets, fresh off maybe as nightmarishly disappointing of a season imaginable, showed the door to future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers, not before head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas were also canned midway through last season. 

In comes a new regime, led by Aaron Glenn, who played for the Jets from 1994-2001 and most recently served as the defensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions. Longtime Broncos executive Darren Mougey was brought in as general manager, and Justin Fields was signed to a 2 year, $40 million contract to serve as the team’s potential long-term answer under center (though unanimously viewed as a stopgap).  

“It's no secret that we were the most penalized team in the league last year, so that's one of the things that I want to nip in the bud early. Making sure that the discipline part of what we do -- we fix that now. You cannot win games in this league with an undisciplined team, so all the penalties that we had last year, we're knocking those things out, and we want to make sure that we're good at that,” Glenn said in a training camp press conference.

Their home opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which brought in a galore of storylines headlined by the Rodgers-Fields “sign and trade” during the offseason, showed promise for this new-look Jets core albeit in a 34-32 loss. 

However, any seeming process made by Glenn and company was quickly thrown out the window when Josh Allen and the Bills took to MetLife Stadium and slammed the door shut in a 30-10 blowout; to add insult to injury, Justin Fields was unable to finish the game after entering concussion protocol.  

Meanwhile, despite Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen seemingly being on the hot seat for the past two seasons, Giants owner John Mara decided to run it back with his head coach and general manager, though the leash on the two of them sounds as short as ever. 

“[The rebuild] better not take too long because I have just about run out of patience,” Mara said during a press conference in January. Mara cited Daboll winning the 2022 AP NFL Coach of the Year award, along with Schoen’s strong 2024 NFL Draft class headlined by standout LSU WR Malik Nabers, as enough leverage to bring them back for the 2025 campaign. 

Despite the pros, it has been the furthest thing from smooth sailing for the pair ever since their playoff appearance in 2022, with back to back “sub-.500” seasons that felt over before the calendar flipped to November.  

While the head coach and general manager survived the off-season, the quarterback room was guaranteed to see a shakeup. Daniel Jones, who spent the past six seasons with Big Blue after being drafted sixth overall in 2019, was finally let go by the team halfway through last season.

Jones, who is now thriving with the Colts through his first two weeks in Indianapolis, was the center of blame for Giants fans in good times (despite there barely being any) and in bad. 

With Jones’ departure came the signing of two veterans: Super Bowl XLVIII champion Russell Wilson and 2014 first overall pick Jameis Winston. Both however have seen better days in their respective careers (Wilson especially) and with both being on the wrong side of 30, the Giants would trade up into the back half of the 2025 NFL Draft to select Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart. 

Conversation stirred up as to how Daboll and company would go about the packed quarterback room; inevitably, Wilson was listed as QB1 on the depth chart and got the starting nod for Week 1 in Washington. The team looked as lethargic as ever, and the Commanders rolled past them in a 21-6 final. 

Week 2, however, proved to be much more hopeful (and at the same time, heartbreaking) for Giants nation. The latest rendition of their deep rooted rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys showed much more promise from an offensive front: Wilson threw for 450 yards and three touchdowns; both Malik Nabers and Wan’Dale Robinson caught north of 100 yards, the former having two highlight reel-worthy touchdown catches on the day. 

But this all proved meaningless when standout Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey nailed a 64-yard field goal at the end of regulation, then a 46-yard field goal as time expired in overtime to give Dallas the 40-37 win. Things appeared to be on the upswing for Big Blue, but it came at the cost of maybe the most gut wrenching Giants loss in a while. 

For Gang Green, there’s much room for improvement before they matchup against familiar face Todd Bowles and the Buccaneers down in Tampa. Meanwhile, the Giants look to get out of their own 0-2 skid when they host the dynastic Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football, a Chiefs team who’s 0-2 in their own right and looks as vulnerable as ever.  

There are many apathetic markets across the league, but maybe none more than New York City in its entirety. A Jets franchise looking to snap their decade plus-long playoff drought, and a Giants organization that hasn’t had it any better. Both teams will have to smooth the landing sooner than later, or else we may be in store for another giant nightmare of a fall in the city that never sleeps. 

Ross Vocaturo can be reached at ross.vocaturo@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: sports,