The New York Giants came out of the bye-week break on Sunday and beat the Houston Texans 24-16, improving their record to 7-2, their best start since opening 8-1 in 2008.

They relied on Saquon Barkley’s massive legs and Daniel Jones’ increasing maturity. They played defense aggressively and often effectively. There were moments when you wondered if the offense could get anything accomplished and other moments when you could envision a bad loss brewing.

The Giants were in control almost all afternoon down on the field but rarely completely in control on the scoreboard at MetLife Stadium.

This is a new team and this is a new season, and the Giants opened up the second half the way they moved through the first half of their season. They did enough to win, beating the lowly Texans, disposing of an inferior opponent uneasily and yet effectively.

Barkley carried the ball a career-high 35 times to amass 152 yards with a touchdown, as the Giants pounded away at the NFL’s bottom-ranked run defense. Jones was accurate (13 of 17) with the few passes he attempted and tossed touchdowns to tight end Lawrence Cager and wide receiver Darius Slayton.

Despite their shooting slump, the Rangers are a playoff team. There are cries that this “is not a playoff team” and that “there is no offense” and “they can’t score.” The hyperbolic doom and gloom surrounding the Rangers occurs every season, just this season it’s happened earlier than usual. But the Rangers are a playoff team. They were when the season started. They are still one now.

Emotions run wild early in the season, especially as the Rangers look to cement themselves as true contenders after a great season last year. They have expectations this season, unlike last season, and it is easy to overreact. We are, after all, human. But a deep breath and some critical thinking is all it takes to realize the Rangers are a playoff team, and nothing has changed due to a .500 start.

The only thing that can keep the Rangers out of the playoffs is themselves. They have certainly played down to their opponents lately after dominating both Tampa and Minnesota to start the season. If not for an epic gaffe by Igor Shesterkin, they likely beat Colorado in one of the more entertaining games of the year as well. The Rangers will right the ship against Dallas and Arizona.

Despite their strong start, there were still questions regarding the legitimacy of Robert Saleh’s New York Jets team entering Sunday’s game against the Bills. Those questions may be gone now, as the Jets posted a 20-17 win over visiting Buffalo to post the franchise’s biggest win in a dozen years.

Two interceptions of Josh Allen loomed large in Sunday’s outcome. The picks overshadowed Allen’s two touchdown runs as Buffalo was unable to hold its early 14-3 lead. The Jets’ comeback was spearheaded by an opportunistic defense, an effective running game and the clutch play of quarterback Zach Wilson, who had arguably his best game since coming to the Big Apple. 

Wilson’s go-ahead touchdown, a 7-yard pass to James Robinson late in the third quarter, occurred after Sauce Gardner recorded the Jets’ second pick of Allen, who was sacked five times by the Jets’ aggressive defense. Wilson then turned to running backs Robinson and Michael Carter on the Jets’ game-winning drive after the Bills had briefly tied the score. 

Bryce Huff’s strip sack of Allen essentially ended the Bills’ hopes of pulling off a last-second comeback on their final drive. The win moves the Jets to 6-3, while the Bills fell to 6-2.