NFL: A look at the sad state of football in New York
Following the New York Giants' narrow loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on "Monday Night Football," the G-Men now stand at 1-7 this season. And while they put up a valiant effort against Tom Brady and Co., it turned out to be nothing more than just a "moral victory."
Unfortunately, those type of victories don't actually count in the standings.
Meanwhile, for the Giants' neighbors in New York, any kind of victory would be nice at this point.
NFL: New York Jets are the NFL's only winless team
The woeful New York Jets haven't been able to muster any type of win this year, sitting at 0-8 and looking like they are on their way to the league's worst record.
The Guys in Green were dropped hard on Sunday by Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-9. They looked almost helpless as their defense surrendered five touchdowns through the air. Meanwhile, Jets quarterback Sam Darnold has only thrown 3 touchdowns all year.
That's the situation for pro football in New York right now. And, it's pretty bleak.
The New York Giants and New York Jets are a combined 1-15, and have essentially wasted the 2020 season already. Any hope for the playoffs has been pretty much wiped out by the halfway point of the season.
In the meantime, both fan bases are grumbling about the two head coaches, and are counting down to see who could potentially finish with the worst record. Right now, it seems like the only intrigue is to see if the Jets or Giants can secure the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
If the Jets land the No. 1 pick, they're expected to take Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence. The Giants, though, theoretically have their young franchise QB in place with Daniel Jones. So they could look to use the top pick for help along the offensive line, or to bolster the defense.
New York Jets head coach Adam Gase is under the most pressure right now. In less than two seasons with New York, he's 7-17 thus far, and the cries for his dismissal are growing louder as the weeks pass.
His contemporary in New York, Joe Judge, is likely on a longer leash in his position as coach of the Giants. He was hired in January 2020, after a successful tenure as an assistant for the New England Patriots. Even still, sports fans and media in "The City That Never Sleeps" have been known to be restless -- and patience will run short on Judge if the losses continue to pile up.
There's probably never been a time when pro football in New York has ever been this bad. Both franchises look to be rebuilding (or at least, re-tooling) for a year or two to come. The Jets have already began making moves ahead of the trade deadline to secure some extra, future draft picks.
As for 2020? It's a race to the wrong kind of finish line.
In the Big Apple, the fans aren't counting many wins any more. They're too busy counting all the losses.