Jets coach Rex Ryan’s Christmas dinner will consist of a heaping helping of crow.
And he’s already starting to chew on it.
“They were definitely the better team this year,” Ryan said after Sunday’s 29-14 loss to the Giants. “Clearly, I was wrong. I will take the responsibility. It is on my shoulders and it should be. That’s just the way it is.”
It’s a far cry from Rex’s boasts in his 2011 book, Play Like You Mean It.
“I have news for you,” Ryan wrote. “We are the better team. We’re the big brother. People might say they are the big, bad Giants, but we are not the same old Jets. . . .
“To me, it seems clear that right now we are the better team and we are going to remain the better team for the next 10 years. Whether you like it or not, those are the facts, and that’s what going to happen. I know it’s going to happen because our style of football is different. We are going to take over the town whether the Giants like it or not, so those fans on the fence that like both teams are going to be Jets fans in the end. The truth is, if I am going to watch one game, I am going to see the Jets, without a doubt. We are better.”
It looked like the Jets would be better, until Giants quarterback Eli Manning and receiver Victor Cruz connected for a nine-yard catch followed by an 90-yard run.
“They had 80 yards up until that point, if that,” Ryan said. “We had it in control. He threw it into double coverage and we missed a couple of tackles. The young man did a great job. He is a Jet Killer it seems ever since that preseason game when we [didn’t] know if he is a receiver or what. He showed today that he is a heck of a receiver and I give him all the credit.”
And so, barring a joint Super Bowl berth in 2012, 2013, or 2014, the Jets and Giants won’t meet in a game that counts until 2015.