Looking back through the years at the Giants-Jets civil war

The Giants and Jets renew regular-season hostilities Saturday for the 12th time in history with more than just bragging rights on the line — their precarious playoff hopes also hang in the balance. The Giants hold a 7-4 all-time edge in the series that has featured everything from late-game Joe Namath heroics to stifling Big Blue defensive efforts to a postgame Bill Parcells fit (Jets version). With the Christmas Eve showdown looming, The Post takes a look back inside each of the previous 11 editions of the pigskin sibling rivalry:

Nov. 1, 1970

Giants 22, Jets 10

AP

OFF BROADWAY: Joe Namath pulls into the end zone on a bootleg during the Jets’ overtime win at the Yale Bowl in 1974.

(Shea Stadium)

Recap: In the first meeting between the two teams, Jets quarterback Al Woodall connected with George Nock for an 8-yard touchdown pass to give the Jets a 7-0 lead. The teams then traded field goals, giving the Jets a 10-3 lead early in the third quarter. But the rest of the quarter was all Giants: a safety and Fran Tarkenton touchdown throws to Bob Tucker and Clifton McNeil put the Giants up 19-10. They added a field goal in the fourth quarter for a 22-10 victory.

Significance: This was the Jets’ first year in the NFL after playing in the AFL for their first 10 seasons. Joe Namath broke his wrist two games prior to this one, and Weeb Ewbank’s Jets ­— less than two years removed from their Super Bowl III triumph — stumbled to a 4-10 record, missing the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. The Giants ended the season at 9-5, missing the playoffs after losing to the Rams, 31-3, on the final day of the regular season. Despite not making the postseason, head coach Alex Webster was named the NFL Coach of the Year.

Nov. 10, 1974

Jets 26, Giants 20 (OT)

(Giants home game, at Yale Bowl)

Recap: With Yankee Stadium closed for renovations and Giants Stadium under construction, the game was played in New Haven, Conn. A close game throughout, Craig Morton piloted the Giants to a 20-13 lead in the fourth quarter. Joe Namath, who had missed the first Giants game, tied the game with a 3-yard bootleg touchdown run with eight minutes left in regulation — his first rushing touchdown in five seasons. Each team missed potential game-winning field goals before Namath threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Emerson Boozer in overtime to give the Jets the win. It was the first regular-season NFL game to be decided in overtime after a sudden-death extra period was adopted prior to the season.

Significance: Neither team was very good — each had a 2-7 record following the game. But the Charley Winner-coached Jets, led by Namath, the eventual comeback player of the year, finished the season with a 7-7 record. The loss to the Jets began a six-game losing streak for Bill Arnsparger’s Giants, who finished with a 2-12 record — their worst in the then-50-year history of the franchise.

Next >

1

2

3

4

Joe Namath, The Giants, Jets, the Jets, Giants game, NFL, Giants, Bill Parcells, Giants Stadium

Nypost.com