Another NFL season is upon us, and here in the Big Apple, our local New York teams will have some new faces leading the charge. Both the Giants and Jets will have new quarterbacks this season, but the question is: Will these QBs be able to lead their teams back to the postseason?
For the Giants, the Daniel Jones experiment has ended, and former Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson will take the helm of his fourth team in five seasons. While Wilson may have passed his prime, his athletic ability and playmaking skills give Big Blue a desperately needed new look under center.
“Wilson is competent,” said Father Ralph Edel, an avid Giants fan and parochial vicar at Holy Family, Flushing, and American Martyrs, Bayside. “He’s not going to do anything that wows you. But we enjoy competency. We haven’t had competency.”
Wilson is clearly a stopgap for first-round draft pick Jaxson Dart, a 22-year-old who starred at Ole Miss. If you’re a Giants fan, you, of course, remember another Ole Miss product who did exceptionally well leading the G-Men: two-time Super Bowl champ Eli Manning. The Giants hope Dart — who looked stellar in the preseason — can develop this year behind Wilson so that he follows a similar path that led Manning to greatness.
The goal seems to be to have Dart take over as the starter at some point this season. According to ESPN Analytics, the Giants have the hardest schedule of any NFL team, so we might see Dart sooner rather than later if the team falls out of contention early. Star wide receiver Malik Nabers and left tackle Andrew Thomas are working their way back from injuries. The offense as a unit looks completely different if these two miss significant time. This is where Wilson’s experience will be critical in protecting the ball and finding a way to eke out some close victories.
Historically, when the Giants have had winning seasons, their defense has carried them, specifically the pass rush. With the No. 3 overall pick in the draft, the Giants selected linebacker Abdul Carter from Penn State, who many pundits called the best player in the draft. Once he settles in, he can be a true difference maker along the defensive front with run stopper Dexter Lawrence and edge rushers Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
“We’re going to have a good defensive line; that’s Giants football, baby!” Father Edel said. “The defense is going to be the highlight of the season. We think they have the potential.”
If the defense can avoid giving up the big play and the offense can limit the turnovers and make some key plays, the Giants may be a surprise team, despite the low expectations.
Meanwhile, the Jets enter the 2025 season with an ongoing record that no team wants attached to them: Gang Green has the longest active playoff drought of 14 seasons, surpassing all NFL teams and all professional sports teams across the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB. Not where you want to be.
Former Jets cornerback Aaron Glenn was hired as the new coach, his first head coaching gig. He’s experienced success the past few seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions, yet the pressure is on for him to change the Jets’ fortunes quickly, given the recent past. The Jets haven’t reached the postseason since 2010.
“I’m excited about Aaron Glenn taking over as head coach,” said long-suffering Jets fan Father James Kuroly, rector principal of Cathedral Prep and Seminary, Elmhurst, and spiritual liaison to the diocesan Catholic Youth Organization sports program. “He has a little bit of Bill Parcells in him because he was under his tenure. You could already see a little bit of fire on the sidelines.”
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Aaron Rodgers, who, after missing his first Jets season with an Achilles injury, turned in only a middling performance last season, is gone. The 41-year-old four-time NFL MVP is now the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and most Jets fans are relieved this headache has moved on.
In Rodgers’ place will be former Chicago Bears No. 1 overall pick Justin Fields, who spent last season splitting time with Wilson in Pittsburgh. There’s no questioning Fields’ ability, but it’s about how he will transition to the big stage in New York.
The Jets are hoping their playmakers — running back Breece Hall, top wide receiver Garrett Wilson, and 2025 second-round draft pick tight end Mason Taylor — all stay healthy and give Fields plenty of options. If the Jets can consistently score about 17-20 points per game, they’ll be competitive given the strength of their defense.
The Jets had the third-best defense in 2024 behind only the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and the Tennessee Titans. Cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams are the standouts among this young, fast defensive corps. The thing about the Jets, though, is they’re historically prone to disappointing their fans. They’ll blow a late lead, make a costly turnover at an inopportune time, and lose a few games they should have won — all of which contribute to the ongoing sour taste left in Jets fans’ mouths.
“The key to all this is that sports should be entertainment,” Father Kuroly said. “It’s supposed to be an escape from reality for just a few hours. When the team is not playing well, it’s hard to be entertained.”
Next weekend, the Giants open on the road at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 7, against the NFC East rival Washington Commanders. On the same day and time, the Jets fittingly host none other than Rodgers and the Steelers at MetLife Stadium.
It may be a long season for both New York franchises, but you never know what can happen and which way the oblong ball bounces. That’s why you play the games. Enjoy the NFL season!