Both of my football teams won this weekend.

New York Jets 24
Miami Dolphins 6

New York Giants 27
Buffalo Bills 24

A victory is a victory, and two victories is nice… but these two did not leave me wanting to post “life is magical and full of joy.” I still have hopes, but I have fears as well.

The final score of the Jets game on Monday Night Football looks convincing, but that’s misleading. It was a pretty shaky win over an awful opponent, a winless team starting a backup quarterback. And even so, it was far from convincing. The Jets O began the game with four three-and-outs and did not get a first down until midway through the second quarter. The only Jet who truly impressed was Darrell Revis. Revis is the best cornerback in the NFL, almost everyone agrees, and yet the Dolphins came out throwing at him and kept it up all game. Miami squandered at least three TD chances in the first half, and their star receiver dropped balls, ran out of bounds on what might have been a long TD, and gave up a pick-six. I really don’t know if the Jets won the game so much as the Dolphins lost it.

(FWIW, I think Miami may be a top contender in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. I just hope they don’t win it. I suffered through a couple decades as a Jets fan, having to face Dan Marino twice a year. I don’t want to go through that again, should the Fish get this kid who is supposed to be the best QB prospect since Elway. So please, win a few games, Miami. Just so long as one of them is not against the Giants two weeks from now, or the Jets in the rematch. You can beat anyone else you please. Starting with the Pats and Bills).

The real test for the Jets will be next week, when they face the Chargers. San Diego is not Miami. If Gang Green can take them down, maybe they are for real. If not… well, it could be a long season. The schedule from here on is a meatgrinder.

As for the Giants… they defeated a much stronger team in the up and coming Buffalo Bills. Corey Webster had a Revis-like afternoon, the pass rush looked fierce (and will get fiercer when Justin Tuck returns), Ahmed Bradshaw came alive and ran the ball well, and Eli was sharp. Even so, it was a near thing. With the score tied, the Bills were driving deep in Giants territory and were already in range for a go-ahead field goal when Ryan Fitzpatrick threw his second INT to Webster. Great play, Corey. The G-Men are now 4-2 and leading the NFC East, which is pretty good for a team that many people said would finish at the bottom of the division. So they’re in it. But I’d be lying if I said I was confident in their prospects going forward. That lost to Seattle leaves lingering doubts, and they have some tough tough games coming up.

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