32 • September 16, 2021 - September 22, 2021
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
Sports The Giants face Washington in Week 2 after a loss to the Broncos The Giants’ 2021 re gula r s ea s on op e ne r lo o ke d si m i la r to ma ny of th e i r ga m e s i n 2 0 2 0 . A c ost ly fumb le by qu a r te rba ck Daniel Jones, poor execution and m ent al m ista ke s ma rke d t he i r 2 7 - 1 3 loss to th e D e nve r Bro nc o s at Me tL ife Sta d i u m th i s pa st Su n day.The y w i ll n ow o p e n t he NFL We ek 2 s che dule against the Wa s h ing ton Fo o tba ll Tea m o n th e road. Wash i ng to n lo st t he i r s ea s on op e ne r at h o m e 2 0 -1 6 to th e L os A ng e les Cha rg e rs. The Giants entered the game versus the Broncos having closed their preseason schedule with a poor performance against the New England Patriots. Looks weren’t deceiving and it portended a listless showing to begin the regular season as the Broncos exploited holes in the Giants’ defense on all three levels. The offense, which had the second lowest points per game average in the league last season at 17.5, continued a disturbing trend of low output. Jones also has not corrected his propensity to amass fumbles AM NEWSat an alarming rate. In 28 career games
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drive with the Giants down 20-7. On the day he was 22-37 for 267 yards and one touchdown. Th e retu rn of r u nning ba ck Saq u on Ba rkl e y did not h el p b ol ster th e Gia nts attack a s h e r u sh e d for ju st 26 ya rds on 10 attempts. It was Ba rkl e y’s first game ac tion sinc e tea r ing th e AC L in h is r ight kne e on S eptemb er 20 of last yea r in We ek 2 against th e Ch icag o B ears. “How I’m feeling? I’m feeling pretty good,” said Barkley to the media on Tuesday. “It felt good to get out there on Sunday. Obviously, a short week. Just trying to get my body back and get ready for Thursday night. “I mean, I haven’t gotten tackled in a whole year or played in a football game in a whole year,” he continued. “Obviously, I didn’t play the full game…but there’s always Giants rookie linebacker Azeez going to be some soreness. DefOjulari recorded his first NFL sack initely a quick turnaround this on Sunday in a 27-13 loss to the week, but that’s why I’ve got to be Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium a pro and get my body ready and take care of my body.” the third-year QB has 30 fumbles, In also speaking with the press 18 of which have been recovered on Tuesday, Giants head coach by the opposition. He coughed up Joe Judge said he has to get his the ball in the Red Zone on Sunday entire team ready with three AM only NEWS 01274 in the third quarter on a crucial days in-between games. “All AM NEWS 08/26/21 07/01/21 0 7 74470 22784
right, so we spent yesterday obviously cleaning up the tape from Week 1,” said Judge, who is 6-11 since taking over the reins of the team in Januar y of 2020 after former head coach Pat Shurmur was fired after only two seasons. Shurmur got a measure of revenge on Sunday as the offensive coordinator for the Broncos. “ B e f o re w e l e f t y e s t e rd ay ,” e l a b o ra t e d Ju d g e, “ w e i n t ro d u c e d t h e Wa s h i n g t o n Fo o t b a l l Te a m t o o u r p l ay e r s t o m a k e s u re t h e y h a d a b r i e f g l i m p s e i n t e r m s o f b i g p i c t u re o f w h o t h e y a re. T h e p l ay e r s s p e n t l a s t n i g h t l o o k i n g t h ro u g h t h e s c o u t i n g re p o r t a n d s o m e o f t h e p re l i m inary cutups we had made for t h e m a n d t h e n c a m e i n t o d ay . “In talking about the NFC East, it’s a unique division. I think these are different types of division games. Every division wants to talk about having passion and who you play. I think it’s important to recognize the history of all the teams in this division, the physicality, the passion, the fan bases. These things all play a part in terms of how we have to prepare for this game and understand the environ01354 ment we’re walking into.” AM 08/ 0 7 74470 22784
yards and two touchdowns with only one interception. He endured six sacks by the Pa n t h e r s d e f e n s e and was harassed a f t e r n o o n7. 0a l l Pa n74470 t h e r s 22784 QB Sam Darnold, who was d r a f t e d N o. 3 i n the first round in 2018 by the Jets to be their long-term leader at the position, c o m p l e ted 24 of 35 passes 0f o r 2 7 9 y a r d s a n d7 74470 22784 o n e T D. T h e J e t s traded Darnold t o t h e Pa n t h e r s in April for three draft picks. The Jets were shut out by the Pa n t h e r s i n t h e first half and 0l o s t l e f t t a c k l e7 74470 22784 Mekhi Becton to a dislocated right
k n e e i n j u r y i n t h e t h i r d q u a rt e r. B e c t o n , t h e i r t o p p i c k l a s t y e a r— No. 1 1 i n t h e f i r s t ro u n d — is expected to be out four to six weeks after surgery. As for t h e 6 - 2 , 2 1 5 -p o u n d W01364 ilson, he p r o v e d t o b e p h y s i c a l l y c a pAM ab 0l e . 09/ 7 “ T h74470 e k i d ’s22784 b e e n h i t b e f o r e ,” said Saleh. “He took some shots today, obviously. But he got b a c k u p. H e s h o w e d r e s o l v e a n d h e ’s f e a r l e s s , h e r e a l l y i s .” T h e 2 2 - y e a r- o l d d i s p l a y e d t o u g h ness and aptitude in his first r e g u l a r s e a s o n t e s t . 01374 “ T h a t ’s p a r t o f t h e j o b,” s aAM id W0i l s o n . “ R i g h t ? Pa he 7 r t o f t 09/ 74470 22784 quarterback pressure is knowi n g t h e re ’s g o i n g t o b e p re s s u re. I t ’s g o o d f o r m e .”
(Bill Moore photo)
By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor
After a rough opener, the Jets focus on Sunday’s home debut 01284
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(Bill Moore photo)
By VINCENT DAVIS Special to the AmNews This Sunday will be the home d e b u t o f t h e J e t s r o o k i e q u a rt e r b a c k Z a c h W i lAM s o nNEWS a n d f i r s tyear head coach Robert Saleh a t M e t L i f e S t a d i u07/08/21 m when they go up against the New England Pa t r i o t s , a n A F C E a s t o p p o n e n t whose dominance of two decades in the division ended last s e a s o n w h e n t h e y f i n i s h e d t h i rd at 7-9. The Jets were last with the second worst record in the AM NEWS NFL at 2-14. T h e Pa t r i o t s a l s o h a v e a 07/15/21 rookie starting quarterback. Ma c J o n e s , d r a f t e d b y t h e t e a m N o. 1 5 o v e r a l l i n A p r i l , b e a t o u t veteran Cam Newton, last seas o n ’s s t a r t e r a f t e r To m B r a d y , w h o w a s w i t h t h e Pa t r i o t s f r o m 2000 to 2019, moved on to the Ta m p a B a y B u c c a n e e r s a n d w o n h i s s e v e n t h S u p e AM r B oNEWS wl. W i l s o n , S a l e h a n07/22/21 d the Jets lost their season opener last Sunday t o t h e C a r o l i n a Pa n t h e r s 1 9 - 1 4 . Wilson was 20-of-37 for 258
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