Otis Livingston: 'Quarterbacking Edge To Giants' In The Jets-Giants 'Toilet Bowl' Matchup
(CBS New York)- The 2019 NFL season has not been a particularly joyous occasion for fans in the New York City area, as neither the Giants nor the Jets have played inspiring football. The teams have combined for a total of three wins, while also combining for eight straight losses. One of those losing streaks will have to come to an end this Sunday when the MetLife Stadium inhabitants meet on the field. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, in a game that CBS 2 sports anchor Otis Livingston says "a lot of people have dubbed this the 'Toilet Bowl' because both teams are so bad."
Of the two teams, the Giants and their fans have had slightly more to celebrate, as they saw first-round pick Daniel Jones lead the team to two straight victories when he was inserted as the starter in Week 3. However, it's been a rough go of things since then, with the team dropping five straight games, falling to 2-7. Jones has looked the part of a rookie figuring things out, with eight touchdowns to six interceptions. But, according to Livingston, when it comes to the quarterback situation between the two teams, Giants fans have the better one.
"I would say, right now the Giants have the best quarterback situation, because Daniel Jones is at least making big plays," said Livingston. "Now, he has a propensity to turn the ball over. If he can secure the ball, have better ball security, he'll be the better quarterback, because he does make plays down the field."
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Turnovers are expected from a young quarterback as they mature into an offense and, to Livingston's point, Jones has at least led the Giants to score points. The Jets offense, looks "anemic" in Livingston's view, and it's hard to say he's wrong. Since putting up 24 points in Darnold's return from mono against the Cowboys, the team has been shut out by the Patriots, followed by a 15-point effort against the Jaguars and an 18-point effort against the Dolphins.
"They've scored on their first drive going down the field the last two games, and then, after that, the faucet has been shut off," said Livingston.
While Darnold's play hasn't been great, he has received very little help from his supporting cast. The offensive line is one of the league's worst, which is always a warning sign for a team. But, on top of the line play, the Jets receiving weapons have not given the second-year quarterback much to work with. Jamison Crowder is the team leader with 45 receptions for 405 yards, followed by running back Le'Veon Bell, who has caught 40 balls for 242 yards. Generally, a running back being your second-most targeted player in the passing game does not bode well, even if that running back is a play-maker of Bell's caliber.
On the defensive side of the ball, both teams rank in the bottom 10 of scoring defense, with the Jets (26.4 PPG) slightly better than the Giants (28.3) at keeping opponents off the board. The Jets have been much better stopping the run than the Giants, allowing just 3.1 yards per carry (first in NFL) versus 4.2 (13th). It will be interesting to see whether they can keep up that stinginess against Saquon Barkley, who struggled to get going against the Cowboys on Monday night.
In the end, Livingston sees this as a game in which the Giants have the better offensive line and quarterback, and that is why he gives the G-Men the advantage.
"I give the edge in quarterbacking to Daniel Jones of the Giants. I give the edge to their offensive line to give him protection. He just has to take care of the football," said Livingston. "We don't know if Le'Veon Bell is going to play. His knee, had an MRI on that. So we're not exactly sure if he's going to be able to play on Sunday. I give the edge to the New York Giants in the Toilet Bowl."