Spokesman-Review
National Football League
N.Y. Jets 23, N.Y. Giants 20
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 6, 2015
Where: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Temperature: 51°
Head Official: John Hussey
Attendance: 80898

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- New York Giants kicker Josh Brown's franchise record ended at 29 straight field-goal attempts made when he pulled a 48-yarder wide left, helping the New York Jets to a 23-20 overtime win at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

"It was time for one of these games to go our way," said a jubilant Jets receiver Brandon Marshall, who finished with 12 catches for 131 yards, including a game-tying 9-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter that made it 20-20.

The Jets, down 20-10 at the half, also got a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to running back Bilal Powell and two field goals from kicker Randy Bullock, including the 31-yard game-winner in overtime, to keep their playoff hopes alive.

"It was a good win," said Jets head coach Todd Bowles. "Usually the games we've been winning, we've been ahead. So for us to come from behind and show some grit during the season, that's the mark of a good team, so we finally got to that point."

The Giants, who got a fifth-straight 100-yard receiving performance from receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (six receptions for 149 yards, one touchdown), saw their dynamic receiver come up with a huge 72-yard second-quarter touchdown catch that gave the Giants a 17-10 second quarter

Offensively, the Jets dominated the Giants in nearly every major statistical category, including time of possession (38:31 to 29:56) and third-down conversions (40 percent to 27 percent).

However, after finding some early-game success running the ball with Chris Ivory, whose 37 rushing yards on their second possession helped set up Bullock's 24-yard field goal to break the scoreless tie, the Jets' offense went cold.

The Giants grabbed a 7-3 lead at the top of the second quarter on Dwayne Harris' 80-yard punt return for a touchdown. With that return, Harris became the third Giants player in franchise history, and the first since Jimmy Patton in 1955, to record touchdowns on both a punt return and kickoff return.

The Giants had a chance to build on their lead in the second quarter when Ivory lost the ball for just the second time this season after being stripped by middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley.

Following the turnover, the Giants drove all the way to the 1-yard line only to have to settle for a 20-yard field goal to make it 10-3.

The Jets knotted the game on their ensuing drive when Fitzpatrick (36 of 50 for 390 yards and two touchdowns) connected for the score to Powell, a pass that came on third down.

Following the touchdown catch by Powell, the Giants would go on to score 10 unanswered points to close out the second quarter -- the touchdown pass to Beckham and a 35-yard field goal by Brown -- to make it 20-10.

After a scoreless third quarter by both teams, the Giants had a chance to put the game away on their first drive of the fourth quarter, a drive that saw the Jets commit two key penalties on third-down attempts.

On fourth-and-goal at the 2-yard line, quarterback Eli Manning's pass, intended for receiver Rueben Randle, was picked off by Jets safety Rontez Miles, a decision that drew some questions regarding head coach Tom Coughlin's thought process to go for it rather than try the field goal.

"I went for it on fourth-and-2 thinking that that would certainly give after the long drive and the amount of time used up in the drive, I thought that that was the play at the time," Coughlin explained.

"I still do. Obviously we didn't score there, we had an interception there. They drove, kicked a field goal and then we didn't do anything with the ball again."

With the ball back in their possession, the Jets converted that turnover into a 24-yard field goal to cut the Giants' lead to 20-13.

Then, Fitzpatrick, who finished with 22 rushing yards on five carries, picked up 15 yards on a key fourth-and-6 from the Giants' 36.

"It was a pass play," Fitzpatrick said. "They played two-man and everyone threw their backs to me. It was a critical juncture of the game where I just saw that I could definitely pick up the first down, so that's what I did."

Two plays later, Fitzpatrick connected with Marshall on the game-tying score with 32 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.

With the win, the Jets snapped a five-game losing streak against the Giants in regular-season games and improved to 4-3 as the "visiting" team at MetLife Stadium. The Jets also improved to 3-0 against the NFC East this season, with a Dec. 19 road game against the Dallas Cowboys remaining.

The Giants, meanwhile, fell to 5-7, their grasp on a potential playoff berth becoming looser by the week with seemingly no answers in sight as to why the Giants are unable to finish games on the right foot.

"Our team put a lot into this; they worked very hard for this," Coughlin said. "They had outstanding practices on Wednesday and Thursday. We were in good position to win the game, we didn't win the game, we didn't finish it, we didn't win it. So it was a lot of disappointment, obviously."

The Giants will look to rebound next Monday night when they visit Miami.

NOTES: Giants return specialist Dwayne Harris' punt return for a touchdown was the first by a Giant since receiver Domenik Hixon scored on a 79-yard return on Dec. 16, 2009, against Dallas. ... Jets DE Mike Catapano was ruled out of the third quarter after suffering a foot injury. ... WR Jeremy Kerley was also ruled out of the game in the second half with a migraine. ... The Giants lost LT Ereck Flowers early in the third quarter to a left ankle sprain, while quarterback Eli Manning was spotted having X-rays for an unspecified injury concern that he passed off as "checking to see if anything was broken." ... WR Odell Beckham's five straight 100-yard receiving games ties him with Homer Jones for the longest streak in franchise history. Jones set his streak over the 1967-68 seasons.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
N.Y. Jets   N.Y. Giants
Chris Ivory Player Orleans Darkwa
10 Attempts 8
47 Yards 23
4.7 Avg Yards 2.9
0 Touchdowns 0
20 Long 6
Receiving
N.Y. Jets   N.Y. Giants
Brandon Marshall Player Odell Beckham
12 Receptions 6
131 Yards 149
10.9 Avg Yards 24.8
1 Touchdowns 1
25 Long 72
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
N.Y. Jets 463 90 373 2 3 1 3.0 0
N.Y. Giants 355 74 281 2 2 0 3.0 1
Upcoming Games
  • N.Y. Giants will play their next game on the road against Miami. The Giants have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • N.Y. Jets will play their next game at home against Tennessee. The Jets have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .600 after a loss.