MANHATTAN — Bragging rights aren’t the only thing on the line is this weekend’s Jets-Giants game.
Big Blue will square off against Gang Green Saturday in a late-season match up that will determine the team’s playoff fates.
The Giants (7-7) will meet the Jets (8-6) at the Meadowlands at 1 p.m. for a Christmas Eve battle made even more compelling by what it means for their playoff futures.
The Jets are in the driver’s seat to ensure a postseason berth, with the last AFC wild-card spot theirs to lose and Cincinnati the only wild-card hopeful with as good a record. The Jets will make the playoffs if they win their last two games, but a loss to Big Blue would severely hurt their chances.
On the other hand, the Giants — who have lost five of their last six games — are on the outside looking in and need to win the NFC East to make the playoffs. The Giants trail Dallas by one game in the NFC East standings and can win their division with a wins over the Jets and Cowboys in the next two weeks.
The match up of in-state rivals has seen players on both teams trash talking during the lead-up.
“We know what type of game this is, it’s an intense game,” Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis told the Associated Press, in response to criticisms from some Giants players.
“People are going to say what they want to say. We’ve been hearing it all week, the jawing back and forth. You expect that and you just go with it. Whoever says what on both sides, we’ve got to go out there and play.”
The Jets are hoping to bounce back after an embarrassing 45-19 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The Giants, who have won four in a row against the Jets since 1996, are coming off a 23-10 loss to last place Washington last weekend.
