There is a lot of hype surrounding this game that the New York Jets have so-called home-field advantage against the New York Giants. The Jets (8-6) and the Giants (7-7) control their own destiny as far as the playoffs are concerned, but I think the Giants will be under more pressure to win because they will have to play the Dallas Cowboys in the last week of the season in a must win game. Not to mention, they will have to keep abreast of the resurgent Philadelphia Eagles who are once again back in contention.

Anyhow, the Giants and the Jets clash has been looked forward to greatly with both teams wanting to win badly to show who is on top in the Big Apple.

"There's no way I'm going to be second fiddle," blustery Jets coach Rex Ryan said. "If we were playing the New York Yankees, I don't want to be second fiddle to them. This is the same type of deal. I want to be the best team in football, not just the best team in this city. But we'll start by being the best team in this city."[1]

As for the Giants, the NFC East is still up for grabs with even the downtrodden Eagles being able to clinch the division if they win their remaining games and hope that the Giants falter against the Jets this Sunday and then go on to beat the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium.

On the other hand, the Jets may only need one victory out of their remaining two games as they face less competition in the AFC this season. The Patriots, Texans, Ravens and Steelers have clinched playoff spots from the AFC. The Denver Broncos and the Jets are the only two teams with an 8-6 record in the AFC going into the final two weeks of the season. There are four other teams that are in contention that have a 7-7 record namely the Titans, Bengals, Raiders and the Chargers. So the Jets most likely should get in but they should be wary of seed positions as always.

But this is definitely a familiar story for the Jets as they have always kept their fans waiting till the last minute before securing a playoff spot and making it to the AFC Championship in the last two seasons. Let’s hope the Giants don’t follow the trend of the last two seasons and lose out on making the playoffs again after having promising starts to the seasons on both occasions.

For now though, the New York fans get a great Christmas treat!