The New York Jets closed their preseason on Friday night in the annual Snoopy Bowl against their crosstown rival, the New York Giants.
While the Giants came away with a 23-6 victory over the Jets, Gang Green still flashed promise in certain areas, particularly with their hot start on defense.
Right away, the Jets set the tone. After generating a tackle for loss and forcing a throwaway, the Jets came away with an interception, their third in the last two games.
On third down, Jameis Winston was looking near the sticks when Qwan’tez Stiggers deflected the pass, and it fell into the hands of Marcelino McCrary-Ball for an INT.
The Jets were able to take advantage of a short field, finishing the drive with a Chip Trayanum rushing touchdown. The drive didn’t feature a single passing play. Instead, Trayanum took nine carries for 30 yards, and QB Cade Klubnik rushed for six yards on one attempt.
However, Jason Sanders missed the Jets’ extra point, keeping the Jets’ lead at 6-0.
On the next drive, the Jets forced another turnover as the Giants were marching down the field. Once again, it was the same duo making the play.
McCrary-Ball punched the ball out of the hands of former Jet Braxton Berrios, and Stiggers recovered the fumble in the end zone.
With cutdown day approaching, they are only making the Jets’ decisions harder. Both players are firmly on the bubble in very competitive position rooms.
After Gang Green went three-and-out, their backup defense allowed a Tyrone Tracy rushing touchdown after a 20+ yard reception to Odell Beckham Jr., giving the Giants a 7-6 lead.
Aside from Stiggers and McCrary-Ball, T’Vondre Sweat and Joseph Ossai were the top defensive players to watch in the green and white on Friday.
After starting training camp on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list, they missed both of the Jets’ first two preseason games, meaning Friday was their first time in game action since the end of the 2025 season.
Both played well against the Giants’ backups as Sweat logged a tackle and a run stuff throughout eight snaps.
As for Ossai, he left the game in the first quarter with a foot injury, which isn’t ideal for an important player who’s already been banged up this summer. However, he played 11 snaps, logging two tackles and a quarterback pressure.
Additionally, Nate Lynn continued his hot streak, coming away with the Jets’ lone sack after his two-sack showing last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Lynn had been signed just three days before that game.
Offensively, the Jets took a conservative approach with Cade Klubnik, who started in place of Geno Smith.
The fourth-round rookie relied heavily on checkdowns before exiting at halftime. One of his few shots downfield, intended for tight end Jelani Woods, was intercepted by former Jets linebacker Zaire Barnes.
After the INT, though, he operated well in the two-minute drill before halftime, making a few nice throws. However, he took a sack that pushed the Jets out of field goal range.
He ended up finishing the night with 59 yards on a 46.1% completion rate (six of 13), zero touchdowns and an interception.
The overall conservative play-calling suggests the Jets weren’t asking Klubnik to prove much in the preseason finale. Friday was the Jets’ last look at Klubnik before deciding on their QB2 plan for the regular season.
Despite that, though, Friday was an underwhelming outing for the Clemson product.
Bailey Zappe took over at quarterback in the second half and played into the fourth quarter, but the Jets struggled to generate much offense. He completed three of six passes (50%) for 17 yards without any touchdowns or interceptions while taking two sacks.
Brady Cook then entered for the final 10-plus minutes of the game, throwing for 26 yards on a 50% completion rate.
The Jets also came away empty on their best scoring opportunity of the second half when Sanders left a 54-yard field-goal attempt short. Despite Chris Banjo declaring Sanders the winner of the kicking competition over Cade York earlier this week, his two misses on Friday could force the Jets to reconsider their options.
Perhaps Darren Mougey will monitor the veteran kickers that shake loose on cutdown day.
Defensively, New York’s third- and fourth-team units struggled against the run and allowed several big plays, enabling the Giants to pull away with a 23-6 win.
Injuries
Several Jets suffered injuries throughout Friday night’s contest.
Sixth-round rookie guard Anez Cooper left the game in the first quarter due to a shoulder injury, along with edge rusher Joseph Ossai, who sustained a foot injury.
Additionally, running back Dominic Richardson and wide receiver Cam Camper both left the game with injuries and didn’t return.
Lastly, there was a scary scene as halftime approached involving rookie running back Chip Trayanum. Several of his teammates stayed on the field for several minutes as he was strapped into the cart.
According to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, he “appeared to have a neck brace as he left the field.”
Per the Jets, he is headed to the hospital. “He is awake, alert, and has movement of his extremities,” the Jets announced on X.
Looking ahead
Now, with the preseason in the books, cutdown day is on the horizon. Sunday, Aug. 30, is cutdown day, when New York, along with the league’s 31 other teams, will be tasked with trimming their rosters from 90 to 53.
Following that, the next big event on the docket is the regular-season opener. The Jets will begin their regular season against the Tennessee Titans nearly two weeks from now, on Sept. 13.
