The game seemed lost for the Jets with 1:33 left in the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium on Sunday when Jets QB Zach Wilson was sacked by Kayvon Thibodeaux on fourth-and-10, turning over the ball to the Giants.
Many Jets fans at the stadium headed for the exits ... but then. ...
No. 1 -- Giants RB Saquon Barkley 'Gave Himself Up'
On first down from the Jets' 26-yard line with 1:24 to play, Saquan Barkley found a hole and went for 6 yards before appearing to give himself up at the 20-yard line. Jets S Jordan Whitehead and LB C.J. Mosley tapped him down, though Barkley had more room to run. The Jets called their second time out. He carried again for 1 yard and the Jets burned their final time out, with 1:14 to play. Barkley carried the ball again, for 2 yards, on third down, setting up a fourth-down play. The Giants called timeout and ran the clock down to 28 seconds.
On the CBS TV broadcast of the game, the Giants' former running back Tiki Barber said while commenting on the replay of Barkley's first-down run: "Saquon cut back against the grain, on the [previous] drive. And he goes down. He gave himself up. He could have run through that tackle."
No. 2 -- Graham Gano Kicks Wide Right
After the time out, kicker Graham Gano trotted onto the field for a 35-yard attempt that would have given the Giants a 6-point lead, 13-7. Jets rookie DL Will McDonald (who had not been on the field for Gano's other two FG attempts), was lined up over the middle by special teams coordinator Brant Boyer and leaped over the offensive line. While No. 99 didn't get a hand on the ball he upset Gano's concentration, as Gano shanked the kick and the ball sailed wide right.
"Will McDonald on the field-goal block to disrupt the kick, just enough, and then the offense to goes down and get the points we needed," HC Robert Saleh said after the game.
CB D.J. Reed said: "It was crazy because guys were already saying [McDonald] was going to block it. They put him in there to block it. He didn't block it, but he got close and he definitely altered the kick."
No. 3 -- First-and-10 From Jets' 25; 24 Seconds on the Clock
"I thought 24 seconds, no problem," said Jets QB Zach Wilson after the game.
On first down, Wilson took a shotgun snap from the emergency center, Xavier Newman, and connected with Garrett Wilson over the deep middle for 29 yards to the Giants' 46-yard line. An offside penalty called on the Giants' DL Kayvon Thibodeaux -- critically -- stopped the clock, as the Jets declined the penalty.
"His head is always in the right place," G.Wilson said about his QB. "It's truly until the lady sings, he's not going to give up. He threw a strike to me on the cover, back side, got the thing going."
After the play, there were 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
No. 4 -- No Time Outs. No Worries.
Again out of the shotgun, Z.Wilson rolled to his right and threw a frozen rope to WR Allen Lazard for another 29-yard completion to the Giants' 17-yard line.
Tick ... tick ... tick. ... as the Jets offense rushed down the field in a desperate attempt to get off another play.
I remember right before the drive started, X [C Xavier Newman] was like 'If we clock it, what's the cadence?' " Z.Wilson said with a laugh. "That just kind of tells you, we haven't practiced that. Overall communication of just getting the guys where they need to be and the absolute hustle right there. Allen [Lazard] doing a great job separating and everyone getting set super quick. It was flawless.
"I am peeking at the clock. I remember my last thought, I looked up and there was 4 seconds up there. I gave one more glance to make sure everyone was set. I knew we got it off. Everyone else was probably a little tight, but I knew we were going to get that one off."
Unlike the final play of the first half at Denver in Week 5 when the Jets couldn't get set for a field-goal attempt, this time Z.Wilson and the offense raced to the line of scrimmage. He spiked the ball with a single second on the clock.
No. 5 -- Greg Zuerlein Sends the Game Into OT
From 35 yards out, kicker Greg Zuerlein calmly stroked the tying field goal that sent the game to overtime, the second game of extra time (both stirring victories) for the Green & White this season. With the game-winner in OT, Zuerlein has converted on 16-of-17 field goal attempts this season. The game-winner was the 14th of Zuerlein's 12-year career, which began with the St. Louis Rams in 2012.
Asked about the pressure kick to tie the game, he said: "The same as any other kick, ideally. Just goes back to your three steps back, two over, and do the same exact routine every time. Whether you are hitting the ball well or you are not hitting the ball well, it always comes down to that. You just fall back on your fundamentals and do your best."
