What went right for Bills/Giants/Jets season-opening wins?
It feels like once in a blue moon that the Bills, Giants, and Jets enjoy “Victory Monday” together, especially given the recent struggles the two MetLife Stadium teams have endured over the past decade. But the last time that happened occurred more recently than you might think.
You only have to go back to Week 3 of the 2024 season to find the last time the three New York teams all won on the same week. If you want to be more specific and find the last time they all won on the same day, that would be on January 4, 2024, which was the final week of the 2023 season. Over two years later, the vibes across New York (and New Jersey) are immaculate.
So how did all three teams get the job done on Sunday? I’ve picked out the biggest key to victory for each team.
Bills: Josh Allen. You could have this answer for virtually every game, but it really rang true in Buffalo’s 36-31 thriller over the Texans. Simply put: Buffalo has #17 under center, and Houston doesn’t.
Allen had another outstanding performance under center, completing 20 of 29 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 23 yards and a further two touchdowns. With that being said, he was very fortunate not to have been picked off by Kamari Lassiter in the end zone as he dropped a surefire interception. One play later, Allen made Houston pay by connecting with Josh Palmer for a go-ahead TD with 1:34 remaining.
Allen carved up a Texans’ defense that was one of the best units in the league last year. Houston allowed a league-low 277.2 yards per game during the regular season last time out. Sunday was a different story, allowing 408 total yards with Allen producing 357 of those yards.
Allen also got a monkey off his back in that he finally won a road game against the Texans after losing his first four trips to Houston, all of which were by seven points or fewer. He found the funny side of that trend, saying after the game that “we do like Reliant Stadium.”
I predicted Allen to win MVP in part because he finally has a true WR1 in DJ Moore. They’ve already found a strong connection with Moore tallying five receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown. Again, if they’re finding this sort of success against the Texans’ defense, then there’s a strong chance that Allen wins his second MVP award.
While the offense looked fantastic even with Joe Brady being promoted to head coach and having more responsibilities than just calling plays, the defense still has some question marks. The Texans’ offense looked anemic at times last year, especially in the postseason. But they had a breakout performance, led by new running back David Montgomery’s three rushing touchdowns. The Bills allowed the fifth-most rushing yards last time out, and it seems like it’s still an area that needs to be addressed.
But as the Sean McDermott-led defenses have done time and time again, Joe Leonhard’s defense bent, but didn’t break. With Houston driving down to the Buffalo 9-yard line, Deone Walker came up clutch with a sack. Two plays later, Greg Rousseau brought down CJ Stroud, forced the ball out, and Terrell Bernard came up with the pigskin to seal a dramatic victory.
While the defense and discipline (they committed 10 penalties for 85 yards) will be key areas of focus heading into Thursday night’s home opener against the Lions, it’s a promising start to a new era in Buffalo.
Giants: Toughness. I’m well aware that this word is very much cliché in this sport, but it felt like there was more of hard-nosed approach on both sides of the ball to power the G-Men to a 28-20 win over the Cowboys.
That should come as no surprise with John Harbaugh now at the helm. But to see it play out in a primetime game against a division rival that’s had their number in recent memory is incredibly encouraging.
On offense, the one player who embodies the word “toughness” is Cam Skattebo. Back from a broken ankle that ended his rookie season after just eight weeks, he got right back to business with 84 yards and a touchdown. Jaxson Dart survived a couple of big hits (including a late hit out of bounds) and remained poised and in total command of the offense, completing 23 of 29 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns.
It was the first time that the “Big Three” of Dart, Skattebo and wideout Malik Nabers played an entire game together on the gridiron. I might need to add in tight end Isaiah Likely to make a “Big Four” as he had an impressive debut, hauling in a team-high eight catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns. While they didn’t have the most difficult task against a Dallas defense that allowed the most points in the league last year, the offense could be something special this year. That’s If (and it is a big if) that quartet can all stay healthy.
On the flip side, Big Blue’s defense was tasked with going up against a high-flying offense led by a quarterback in Dak Prescott who has routinely torched them throughout his career. They did a much better job of bringing the pressure, which resulted in an interception towards the end of the first half that set up a Giants’ TD. They also managed to not allow that many explosive plays. The biggest gains the Cowboys made were on pass interference calls, which Harbaugh and new defensive coordinator Denard Wilson will make sure to clean up as the season progresses.
One important note: Since the Giants’ Super Bowl victory in 2012, they have won only two season openers: 2016 and 2022. Their only two playoff appearances since hoisting the Lombardi Trophy? Also in 2016 and 2022. Here’s hoping that trend continues.
Jets: Defense. Heading into this season, head coach Aaron Glenn’s seat was on the hotter side after a dismal 3-14 season. A major part of their downfall was his defense that allowed the second-most points in the league. When he decided that he would remain on defensive play-calling duties this season, that came under some criticism.
The noise surrounding Glenn has quieted (for now) after a 23-10 win over the Titans. The Jets’ defense held Tennessee to 195 yards of total offense, including just 68 rushing yards and sacked Cam Ward three times. The only “negative” is that their wait for an interception goes on after not recording a single pick last year. But they did force a fumble
Granted, the Titans are now led by two failed New York coaches in head coach Robert Saleh and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. But there would be no revenge for Saleh against his former employers, and the Jets defense gave his team a taste of his own medicine, in a sense.
Over on offense, Geno Smith had a solid return to Gang Green, completing 19 of 24 passes for 215 yards. More importantly, he did not turn over the ball, something that was a major issue for the Raiders last year.
New York will face much tougher teams, including next week’s matchup against the Packers. But any point in the season where you can say you’re top of the AFC East is reason to celebrate, even if it’s just Week 1.
A successful inaugural “Saturday Night Lights” for Bombers football
History was made at Butterfield Stadium on Saturday night. For the first time on South Hill, Ithaca College football would play a game under the lights. For context, they’ve played inside the stadium since 1958 and have played over 300 games there, all without the experience of battling it out after the sun has set.
As kickoff neared, the anticipation kept growing. The tailgates were flowing. Over 2,600 fans made their way into the stadium. The school’s new pep band was ready to bring the noise. As a former pep band member in my high school, it’s only right that I shout them out as they did a phenomenal job.
But all the hype would not be fulfilled if the Bombers did not take care of business against an Alfred team that they had won six straight meetings against, all by fairly comfortable margins. As the bright lights at Bertino Field shined down upon the gridiron and as the rain rolled through in the second half, the Bombers ensured the home crowd left even happier with a 27-3 victory.
It was a great way to bounce back after a hard-fought 30-21 loss at #4 Johns Hopkins last week. Similar to that contest, things got off to a slow start offensively against the Saxons as it was 3-3 late in the second quarter. Head coach Brandon Maguire told me after the game that it was moreso that they were slow finishing drives, which included Michael Reed getting picked off in the end zone. But Reed made amends with 12 seconds left in the first half, punching it in from less than a yard out to put the Bombers in front 10-3.
That seemed to spark their offense back into life. After the Bombers’ stellar defense forced and recovered a fumble on the first play from scrimmage after the break, Ithaca’s offense wasted no time in taking advantage. It took just one play for them to cash in, a 20-yard rushing touchdown from Chris Scully to make it 14-3. Scully finished the night with 105 yards on the ground.
From there, the defense continued to shut down the Saxons’ offense led by former Bombers’ starting quarterback Matthew Parker. They ended up holding Alfred to 168 yards of total offense, including just 22 rushing yards.
Meanwhile the Reed-led offense extended their lead with a Nick Lang receiving touchdown and a pair of field goals from Caleb Wandell. That’s now the third time that Reed and Lang have connected for a score. Lang led the way with eight receptions for 104 yards, while the other receivers combined for six receptions and 73 yards. That’s why Maguire—who picked up his first career win as head coach—also said after the game that he wants the offense to start spreading the ball around a bit more as opposing defenses start to hone in on stopping Lang.
Given Ithaca’s next opponent is Hilbert—a team who has yet to win a game in its program’s brief history—expect to see the wealth shared all throughout the depth chart. That game will be played this Saturday at Butterfield for a regularly-scheduled 1 p.m. kickoff.
Yankees take latest Subway Series
With all the football going on both on a local and national level, don’t forget that it’s still baseball season.
The Yankees continued their push to win the division this past week by playing two bottom-six teams in the majors, though one of those teams would be their crosstown rivals.
Before getting to the Subway Series, New York had to battle the league-worst Rockies in the Bronx. I use the word “battle” lightly, because Colorado didn’t put up too much of a fight. The Yankees swept aside the Rockies with 5-3, 6-1 and 10-3 victories.
Tuesday’s game featured the long-awaited return of Aaron Judge after missing 99 days (coincidence much?) with a stress fracture in his right rib. Judge expectedly looked a bit rusty, going 0-3 with two strikeouts. He ended this week going 3-14 at the plate with six strikeouts, one run and one walk. Perhaps passing on a rehab assignment wasn’t the best idea? Not really. Judge will be just fine.
Two days later, another Yankee made his return: Anthony Volpe. Filling in for the injured Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second base, he made the most of his new-found opportunity. Hitting a grand slam is one surefire way to get the fans back on your side, though to their credit, they loudly applauded when he stepped up to the plate for his first at-bat. Maybe this could be the start of a renaissance, and all that was needed was a reset in the minors and a position change.
Alright, onto the Mets. Friday night was one filled with emotions inside Yankee Stadium. On the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, they held a pregame ceremony to honor those who were affected by a national tragedy. Kudos to MLB for scheduling the Subway Series for the occasion, and hopefully they can play against each other every year on September 11th.
To the game itself, Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice stepped up to help the Yankees come out on top 6-4. Bellinger hit a three-run homer to give them an early cushion, while Rice ended the night 3-4 with three runs. Things got a bit dicey towards the end, but Bednar closed it out by getting Juan Soto to ground out into a game-ending double play. Poetry for Yankee fans, no doubt.
The Mets would bite back on Saturday with a 12-2 rout. Gerrit Cole was once again susceptible to the long ball, allowing three home runs. This came after allowing four homers in his previous start against the Padres, including back-to-back-to-back dingers. While Cole and manager Aaron Boone are downplaying the so-called “home run bug,” it is a slight concern given that he only has a few more starts before the postseason begins.
The Yankees got back to their usual pitching prowess for Sunday’s rubber match, blanking the Mets 2-0. Cam Schlittler had yet another wonderful showing, tossing six innings of one-hit ball with eight strikeouts. Forget winning the AL Cy Young award (sorry, Dylan Cease), but could he actually win MVP? Unfortunately for him, Yordan Alvarez has all but locked that award up. In all seriousness, it’s been an unreal season for Schlittler, one that will hopefully carry over into October.
This week, the Yankees take trips to Minnesota and Arizona as they aim to keep pace with the Rays for the AL East Division race, the gap currently sitting at four games.
Other things that caught my eye
- No matter what level of football, it’s always impressive to pitch a shutout. That’s exactly what SUNY Cortland achieved at Union, blanking the Garnet Chargers 26-0. It’s the Red Dragons’ first shutout since a 49-0 win over St. John Fisher in 2024. They didn’t even need to force a turnover in order to force a goose egg to stay on the home side of the scoreboard. The offense complemented the defense with a pair of one-yard rushing touchdowns from Ethan Gallo, a pair of Cole Callard field goals, and a Sam Cotton touchdown reception. The Red Dragons gear up for their home opener and Empire 8 opener this Saturday vs. Hartwick. Like I said last week, if they can dominate conference play like they did last year, then they could very well be undefeated heading into the Cortaca Jug. But again, they’ll keep the “one game at a time” mantra.
- Syracuse had their conference opener on Saturday against Cal, where they fell 21-18. The Orange did build up a 12-0 lead, but that was wiped away due to a host of self-inflicted wounds. Steve Angeli had a rough go at it under center, throwing three interceptions, all of whom were snagged by Golden Bears cornerback Kingston Lopa. They also struggled keeping their discipline once again, committing 15 penalties for 132 yards. That was something they needed to clean up after committing 12 penalties for 125 yards in last week’s 66-3 blowout of New Hampshire. It’s a short week for the Orange as it heads to Pitt for a Thursday night showdown.
- Five local high school football teams were victorious in Week 2 of the Section IV season. Lansing opened up its season with a 46-0 rout of Newfield. Logan Mayo had four total touchdowns in his first game for the Bobcats since 2024. Groton made it back-to-back 60-point victories to start of the season. Following a 66-6 smattering of Sidney, the Red Hawks were at it again with a 72-12 demolition of Greene/Oxford. Kam McClain threw for five touchdowns. Ithaca also moved to 2-0 on the year with a 40-26 victory at Oneonta. Jasmir Robbins stole the show with four touchdowns. Newark Valley picked up its first win of the season with a 28-6 win vs. Whitney Point. The Cardinals were powered by three rushing scores from Kenny Slater, all in the first half. Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour is also 1-1 now after easing past Bainbridge-Guilford/Harpursville/Afton 56-7.
