Both the New York Giants and New York Jets began their 2025-2026 campaigns with losses on Sunday, Sept. 7. The Giants were only able to muster two field goals against the division rival Washington Commanders, losing the game 21-6. The Jets experienced heartbreak at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers, losing by two points for a final score of 34-32.
The Jets snatched a first quarter lead in Pittsburgh with a field goal before Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers fired back with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Ben Skowronek. New York returned the favor with quarterback Justin Fields lobbing a beautiful 33-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson to take a 9-7 lead. The Jets attempted a two-point conversion by way of a run play up the middle, but the effort was stopped by the Steelers defensive line.
Pittsburgh regained the lead with a field goal to open the second quarter only for the Jets to punch back by marching downfield and handing the ball off to Braelon Allen for an eight-yard rushing touchdown moving the score to 16-10. After the Jets’ defense stopped the Steelers with a huge third down sack, their offense increased their lead to 19-10 via Nick Folk’s second field goal of the afternoon. As the first half came to a close, the Steelers offense mixed their run game with a pair of deep passes to enter the red zone. On second and goal, Rodgers completed a sneaky pass to Jonnu Smith who trucked through the Steelers defense for a touchdown.
After a series of punts by both teams to open the third quarter, the Jets found the end zone once more from a two-yard quarterback rush by Justin Fields, making the score 26-19 Jets.
The fourth quarter began with Aaron Rodgers’ third touchdown pass of the day which moved the score to 26-24 with the Jets still leading. After the Steelers touchdown, disaster struck on the kickoff return for the Jets as Xavier Gipson fumbled the ball upon contact resulting in a turnover. The Steelers took over with advantageous field position and capitalized with Rodgers hurling his fourth touchdown pass of the day and giving Pittsburgh a 31-26 lead. New York responded by driving down the field and Justin Fields scored his second rushing touchdown. Now holding a one-point lead, the Jets attempted a two-point conversion to no avail. With little over a minute remaining in regulation, the Steelers were able to get in range for Chris Boswell to drill a 60-yard field goal, giving Pittsburgh the lead and ultimately the win.
Rodgers showed out in his Steelers debut, passing for 244 yards with only eight incompletions on the day. On defense, Pittsburgh outside linebacker Alex Highsmith raked up five tackles to go along with a sack.
The Giants hosted the Commanders at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford in what was a quiet and uneventful loss for New York. Washington grabbed the lead in the first quarter with a passing touchdown by Jayden Daniels and never gave it back. The Giants only managed two field goals, making it their third straight season opener in which they didn’t score a touchdown.
Quarterback Russell Wilson looked mediocre in his debut with the Giants, going 17/37 for 169 yards and scrambling for 43 yards on eight attempts. The only sign of hope for the Giants was a partially blocked Commanders punt at the hands of their first round draft pick, Abdul Carter. The Giants narrowly edged out the Commanders in terms of possession time, yet had 200 fewer offensive yards.
While New York football fans know the taste of defeat and disappointment well, Week 1 served as a reminder that both organizations are far from obtaining a winning formula. Both New York teams will face off against division rivals in Week 2 as the Jets look to rebound against the Buffalo Bills while the Giants head to Dallas to take on the Cowboys.
