New York Giants Stun Green Bay Packers 27-22

The Giants have shown remarkable grit and determination this season. They took that fighting spirit overseas to London and showed an international audience — and the Packers, from Green Bay, Wisc. — that this is a new and quite improved Giants operation.

The Giants trailed 17-3 in the second quarter and 20-10 at halftime against Aaron Rodgers and it looked as if this would not be a fruitful  trip across the pond for coach Brian Daboll’s club. What transpired in the second half was stunning. The Giants on defense pitched a shutout. Daniel Jones gutted out yards and points. Saquon Barkley was forced out with a shoulder injury and returned.

Barkley scored the game-winning touchdown with 6:08 remaining and then turned the game over to their largely no-name defense. Rodgers moved the Packers to the Giants’ 7 yard line but on fourth down his pass was deflected up and into the air by blitzing safety Xavier McKinney. The ball fell harmlessly to the grass at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with 1:11 remaining and soon after the Giants secured an improbable 27-22 comeback victory.

Barkley ran 13 times for 70 yards. Jones, playing despite a sprained left ankle, was incredibly resilient. He completed 21 of 27 passes for 217 yards and ran 10 times for 37 yards. The Giants limited the damage and Rodgers was held scoreless in the second half.

Jets Beat AFC East Rival Dolphins 40-17

The New York Jets moved to 3-2 with an impressive victory over the Miami Dolphins, 40-17. It was the Jets first win over an AFC East team in 13 tries.

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was out this week with a concussion, and backup Teddy Bridgewater on the first play from scrimmage suffered an elbow injury along with a potential concussion and was ruled out for the remainder of the game due to the NFL’s new protocols. Seventh-round pick Skylar Thompson took over in his stead.

Jets QB Wilson completed 14-of-21 passes for 210 yards, and all five New York touchdowns came via the ground. Rookie running back Breece Hall was the star of the show, as he rushed for 97 yards and one touchdown. He also shined in the passing game, as he caught two passes for a total of 100 yards. Defensively, Jets rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner stood out. He recorded his first career interception, and made the hit that knocked Bridgewater out of the game. 

Thompson completed 19-of-33 passes for 166 yards and one interception in his first NFL action aside from preseason play. Raheem Mostert was someone who kept the Dolphins’ offense afloat, as he rushed for 113 yards and one touchdown. Tyreek Hill caught seven passes for 47 yards.

It’s Sixty-Two Homers for Aaron Judge!

Aaron Judge made history Tuesday, hitting his 62nd home run of the season in the Yankees’ 3-2 loss to the Rangers in Game 2 of a doubleheader to break Roger Maris’ American League and franchise record set in 1961.

The Yankees outfielder reached the landmark number against Jesus Tinoco of the Texas Rangers, leading off in the second-to-last regular season game on the season.

In the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader, Judge went 1 for 5 as the designated hitter, singling and scoring the eighth inning. The frustrations of his homerless drought began to show as he was caught slamming his helmet in the dugout after a fifth inning pop-out.

He appeared to take out his frustrations early on the second game, sending a 1-1 pitch from Tinoco 391 feet into the left field bleachers  at 100.3 MPH for No. 62.

It’s the most homers hit in a season since Barry Bonds set his PED-tainted record of 73 home runs in 2001 with the Giants. Sammy Sosa, another slugger disgraced by his attachment to steroids, hit 64 that season with the Cubs. Sosa’s career-high of 66 came in 1998 during his chase with Mark McGwire, who finished with 70 home runs.