You can call it the race to three wins. Heading into Week 3, I would have thought the Jets, taking on the Oakland Raiders, would have nabbed that win, but instead they were run out of California, 34-24. The Giants, meanwhile, played both strong defense and offense against Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles. That combination led to a 29-16 victory, which made the short drive back to East Rutherford much more pleasant.
Let’s take a look at three stars from each the Giants and the Jets in Week 3:
New York Jets
Mark Sanchez: The third-year arm had his best game of the season, tossing two touchdowns and one interception on 27-for-43 passing. He also happened to rack up 369 yards in the process. That’s a big day, thanks in part to playing from behind for much of the game which took out the rush. It’s comforting to see performances like this out of Sanchez, especially when the backs fail to muster more than 100 yards, including just 59 by Shonn Greene.
LaDainian Tomlinson: With the exception of a 20-yard run, Tomlinson made all of his contributions as a pass catcher. The future Hall of Famer caught five balls for 116 yards, 74 of them coming on one play. His touchdown came on an 18-yard pass from Sanchez. The Jets aren’t using Tomlinson as much as they did early in 2010, but that’s the smart move considering he wore down by the playoffs.
Dustin Keller: Any defense that gives up 34 points, including 171 yards on 19 carries, doesn’t deserve much praise. In fact, that was the worst rushing defense by a Rex Ryan-coached Jets team since he signed on. That’s why Keller gets this week’s nod, his second in a row. The tight end was targeted nine times and caught five balls for 87 yards.
New York Giants
Eli Manning: The Monday night game hasn’t been played yet, but it’s safe to say that Manning’s Sunday performance against the Eagles was one of the top three this week. He didn’t have big numbers, but the one that counted most was four touchdowns. He did that on just 16-for-23 passing with 254 yards and zero interceptions. If the Giants can get more of these type performances, their injury-riddled defense won’t feel as much pressure.
Victor Cruz: This was the stage Cruz had been waiting for since scoring three touchdowns in a preseason game last year. Finally healthy, Cruz cemented himself as one of the Giants’ top receiving threats, even when Hakeem Nicks and Marion Manningham are on the field, too. Cruz caught three balls for 110 yards and two touchdowns. His catches weren’t easy either. Take a look at that third one and you’ll see smart instincts by Cruz as to where he was in relation to the goal line.
Aaron Ross: It’s no secret that Ross hasn’t turned into the corner New York was hoping for when they took him with the 20th pick in the 1997 NFL draft. Tom Coughlin still has faith in his defensive back though and Sunday helped increase his chances of staying on the field. Ross had two interceptions, one on a ball thrown to former Giants wideout Steve Smith and the other to DeSean Jackson. His play was one of the reasons Vick was so ineffective.