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New York Jets: Offense shines during MetLife Bowl

ByMatthew Ordazzo|

The New York Jets went into their annual “MetLife Bowl” looking to defeat the New York Giants to secure the infamous Snoopy trpphy. The battle for it was underway Saturday night at MetLife stadium. The Jets and Giants took the field for their preseason match-up in which the Jets were victorious while the Giants’ offense once again struggled.

Examining the last few weeks of preseason games in which the Jets first-team offense and defense noticeably struggled, I was a bit nervous as to how they would perform against the Giants. Early on, Ryan Fitzpatrick gave them a glimpse of confidence giving the Jets an early lead in the first half with a red zone touchdown pass to Eric Decker.

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After that score it was smooth sailing for the Jets’ offense and defense. Fitzpatrick played the entire first half and finished 9/14 for 127 yards and two touchdowns.

Eli Manning looked sharp in the first half, leading the Giants first-string offense to their first touchdown of the preseason, but a late pick-six by Antonio Cromartie, which he returned 59 yards for a touchdown, shut down the Giants’ momentum.

While the Giants’ offense showed slight flares of production, their defense however showed flares of combustion. Plagued by injuries across the board, the Giants’ defense could not figure out how to stop the run or the pass. They didn’t even lay a hand on Fitzpatrick the entire first half. Tom Coughlin definitely had an ear full for his team at half time.

Speaking of the half time, MetLife Stadium recently launched two new interactive features for fans everywhere to enjoy while in attendance. Since I was actually in attendance for this preseason game, I had a chance to check out this new “MetLife Central” inside the stadium which is pretty cool. At the main entrance by the Pepsi Gate, MetLife has created a new and fun experience for fans to enjoy while they are at the game.

First up, they have almost a virtual reality aerial tour. You have a special head set you wear and it shows you a virtual aerial view from the MetLife blimp looking down at the city. The full length aerial view is 90 seconds, it was incredible as you feel as if your floating high in the sky looking down on the city.

Next up we have the area right next to the virtual tour where you can create your own personal, customized ticket. Fans get to pose in front of a green screen, you take two to three pictures and choose which pose you liked the most and which background you prefer and you’re able to pick up a personalized ticket with lanyard right across the entrance way.

Prior to creating your own ticket and experiencing the aerial tour, you also get plug-in your personal information, e-mail, name, zip code etc. An email is sent to you including glimpses of your MetLife Central experience that is kept all season long. This is all pretty cool to do during the halftime and before games so definitely check it out.

The game resumes, Bryce Petty starts off the second half and the Jets’ second and third strings weren’t able to pick up where the Jets first-string led off. Only putting up seven points in the second half compared to the 21 points in the first half, the Jets were able to stop the Giants and the sharp Ryan Nassib.

Aug 29, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Bryce Petty (9) hands the ball to New York Jets running back Zac Stacy (38) during the second half at MetLife Stadium. The Jets defeated the Giants 28-18. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

Nassib led the Giants to a scoring drive late in the second half and converted the two-point conversion making it a 28-18 game. However, Petty managed to play the rest of the game conservatively maintaining the lead and ultimately securing the victory for Gang Green.

Overall, very impressed with the Jets and how they’re consistently improving on a weekly basis, especially their offense. With Fitzpatrick having time to get acquainted with the first team, the Jets settled down and developed a nice rhythm. Let’s not leave out our special teams as Walter Powell had a clean punt return for a touchdown as well.

If the Jets can play in sync like that every week, there’s no opponent out there Gang Green can’t beat. It looks like the Jets are serious about becoming contenders again.

Next: Coffee with the New York Jets: Team cuts 12 players

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