Giants vs. Jets: Ranking the rivalry's 10 most memorable moments

EAST RUTHERFORD - Lawrence Taylor once famously said that those who rooted for the New York Jets were actually New York Giants fans who could not get season tickets to cheer on Big Blue.

Rex Ryan and Brandon Jacobs famously spiced things up when they almost went 12 rounds at the 50.

The memories make the rivalry as the Giants (2-5) and Jets (3-3) will renew acquaintances in the regular season when they clash Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium.

Both teams are fighting to regain footing in 2023 following unexpected beginnings: the Jets losing Aaron Rodgers on opening night four snaps into his career here, the Giants trying to rebound from a 1-5 start that tested them as Brian Daboll's second season began.

Maybe the pre-game catch between Rodgers, still on one good leg, and Eli Manning that we've been promised following their "ManningCast" appearance together last Monday night makes a future list!

The one thing the Giants and Jets can agree on: they don't really care for one another the way neighbors that share a backyard tend to get on each other's nerves. Just look at their respective practice facilities - the Giants' brick-front building in the Meadowlands parking lot; the Jets preferring more of a glass house look with white and green every where - and you see how they could not come to a compromise as to what they wanted the stadium to look like. That's how you end up playing in the big air conditioner on Route 3.

Here are the Top 10 most memorable moments in Giants vs. Jets history, preseason and in the games that actually count in the standings:

10. Jason Sehorn's misery

On his first ever kickoff return as a Giant, after begging Jim Fassel to let him do it, Jason Sehorn tore the ACL and MCL in his knee in the 1998 preseason. He had returned the opening kickoff 33 yards to the Giants' 35, but fumbled following a big hit. That wasn't the worst of it, of course, as Sehorn became a cautionary tale for which the Giants will never forget.

Sehorn had enjoyed his finest professional season the previous year when he recorded six interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown, and 86 tackles.

9. What the heck was Rex thinking?

Sometimes, Rex Ryan made you believe he wanted the Snoopy Bowl trophy as badly as the one with Vince Lombardi's name on it. What transpired in the 2013 preseason clash - Jets 24, Giants 21 - was incredulous and inexcusable.

The Jets lost quarterback Mark Sanchez for the year to a right shoulder injury when Ryan put him in during the fourth quarter behind an offensive line comprised of second- and third-stringers. A hit from former Giants DT Marvin Austin decked Sanchez and ultimately cost him the season.

8. Spoiler alert

The Jets spoiled the Giants’ playoff chances on Dec. 18, 1988, when Ken O’Brien hit Al Toon for a 5-yard touchdown with 37 seconds left to give them a 27-21 victory. Phil Simms threw three TD passes for the Giants, but they were eliminated with the loss combined with wins elsewhere by the Eagles and Rams.

7. Ahmad Bradshaw Trucking Co. coming through

Ahmad Bradshaw was not looking to prove how tough he is. The only thing between him and the end zone was Jets safety Brodney Pool, so Bradshaw lowered his shoulder and rocked not only Pool, but much of the crowd inside MetLife Stadium on Christmas Eve 2011.

Pool went down and Bradshaw kept going on his way to that game-breaking 14-yard touchdown with 13 seconds left in the third quarter, an emphatic play that symbolized the kind of fight the Giants needed and finally showed en route to the NFC East title.

Video of Bradshaw's flattening of Pool certainly gained plenty of views on the Internet, but not in the Giants' meeting rooms inside their training facility.

"It was shown enough on 'SportsCenter,'" Bradshaw told NorthJersey.com back then, flashing a wry smile.

6. Bill Parcells goes Green

The date was Aug. 16, 1997. The final score: Jets 27, Giants 17.

At the old Giants Stadium, eventual Hall of Famer Bill Parcells traded in Big Blue for Gang Green, and this was his first Jets-Giants game as head coach of the Jets, who rallied behind Glenn Foley in a fourth-quarter comeback for the victory.

"I saw where Bill Parcells was quoted as saying this is just another game to him," late Giants owner Wellington Mara told The Record in the days leading up to the game. "There was never 'just another game' for Bill Parcells."

Info: How much are Giants vs. Jets tickets? Here's what they cost for Sunday's game at MetLife

5. The Brawl that ended it all for a while

A bench-clearing brawl on the first play of the Giants-Jets practice at the University of Albany in 2005 – with Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey at the center of the skirmish - created a fiery atmosphere from the outset. Coughlin was livid enough to get into an animated argument with Donnie Henderson, then the Jets' defensive coordinator.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin took exception to the aggressiveness of the Jets' defense, particularly the defensive backs, when Shockey got into it with Jets safeties Oliver Celestin and Erik Coleman, as well as linebacker Jonathan Vilma. Celestin shoved Shockey in the back after a play, and the chaos ensued.

The Jets and Giants did not hold a joint practice again until the summer of 2022.

4. A crimson mask for Eli Manning

Eli Manning initially laughed at the question.

A reporter asked Manning for his recollection of then-undrafted rookie wide receiver Victor Cruz's three-touchdown game in the preseason against the Jets in August 2010.

"I think I was getting stitches in my head," the Giants' ex-two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback said. "I think I missed a lot of it."

A bloodied Manning sustained a three-inch laceration that required 12 stitches, the result of a second-quarter hit by Jets linebacker Calvin Pace. By the time the game was over, the narrative changed completely when an unknown kid from Paterson put on a show with three touchdown catches, turning the first game inside the new building into his personal highlight video.

"It was Victor Cruz before anyone even knew who Victor Cruz was," Manning said of Cruz, who sported No. 3 and not the familiar No. 80 he ended up wearing, leading the Giants to a 31-16 victory. "He made a name for himself that night."

That would not be the last time the Jets had to deal with Victor Cruz.

3. Curtains

Hours before the Giants and Jets were set to kick off on Christmas Eve 2011, the Jets hung black curtains over the four Super Bowl murals painted on the wall outside their locker room.

Because they were the home team, the Jets controlled all the signage at the stadium, and those curtains were typically up for every one of their home games regardless of opponents.

Before the game, the Giants noticed the curtains, yet left them up. They went out and picked up the victory, and afterward made sure the three logos would breathe. Giants teammates David Diehl, Zak DeOssie and Steve Weatherford decided the curtains were coming down.

Ryan, who had said five days earlier that the Jets were the better team, had a verbal confrontation with Giants running back Brandon Jacobs at midfield after the game.

2. The 'other' Super Bowl

Yes, this was a preseason game in 1969, but to the Jets, it was essentially Super Bowl IV. Nearly a year after their shocking Super Bowl III upset, the Jets were still feeling like they were the forgotten team in New York.

At the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut, the Joe Namath-led Jets treated the exhibition like a playoff game. Namath went 14-of-16 passing for 188 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-14 rout. Giants coach Allie Sherman was fired in the aftermath, and the teams have played every summer since.

Said Jets fullback Matt Snell: "That was bigger than the $250 we made for the game."

1. Merry Christmas, Santa Cruz

At the time, the Jets were coming off back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances and on the road to another playoff run. They were leading late in the second quarter, 7-3, when Victor Cruz changed everything. He caught a pass from Eli Manning around the Giants' 12-yard line, slipped attempted tackles by Kyle Wilson and Antonio Cromartie, then leaped over a diving Eric Smith near the Jets' 40 on a 99-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

That was the longest scoring play in team history, surpassing a 98-yard pass from Earl Morrall to Homer Jones in 1966.

When Cruz crossed the goal line and into the end zone, the Paterson native immediately broke into his trademark Salsa dance. The Giants entered the game with a 7-7 record and wound up beating Dallas the following week for the NFC East title, sparking their magical Super Bowl XLVI run.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Giants vs. Jets: Ranking rivalry's 10 most memorable moments