DE Jason Pierre-Paul vs. LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson
Both franchises invested in these two first-round picks, and they're both paying dividends. Ferguson has started every game for the Jets since he was the fourth overall draft pick in 2006 and has been selected to the last two Pro Bowls. Meanwhile, Pierre-Paul, the 15th overall pick in 2010, is on his way with 76 tackles this season and is fourth in the NFL with 13.5 sacks. Rex Ryan commented earlier in the week about the first meeting between the two high-caliber athletes.
"Well, I think with Pierre-Paul, I think when you look at him, if you're going to block him with one guy, it's going to take a player like D'Brickashaw [Ferguson]," Ryan said. "There are very few Pierre-Pauls in the league, there are very few D'Brickashaw Fergusons in the league."
WRs Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz vs. CBs Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie
Both over 1,000 yards receiving, Nicks and Cruz are within reach of Amani Toomer's single-season yardage record, but they'll first have to go through Revis and Cromartie's seventh-ranked pass defense. Everything has been said or written about the two corners, but only time will show who locks onto which receiver and who will win out.
"You usually don't see a guy that quick that has strength like Revis," offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said. "He reaches and grabs and holds as good as anybody in the league. You can see the strength when he does, so he must be a powerful guy. I think Cromartie has good speed and those long arms. It is hard to run by him because he is in that trail position so it is hard to come back underneath him. He can reach up and deflect some things when you try to go over the top so those are some quality players. They are totally different but both good cover guys."
Big Blue vs. "Green It"
Rex Ryan and the Jets began the week with an official "Green It" campaign, pleading with their fans to wear their team's color and not sell tickets to any Giants fans. The atmosphere will be electric in MetLife Stadium given the timing and the circumstances of the game. Meanwhile, the Giants are treating it like a true road game and have been practicing all week with generated crowd noise (to name one example). Blue or green, it will be sure to be a black-and-blue game.
"I hope the Jets fans keep their tickets, but I understand it's Christmas time and all that stuff, and if the price is right I'm sure it'll be tough not to let those things go," Ryan said. "Obviously, there is going to be a lot of Giants fans in the stadium, so we expect that. At the end of it, all that matters is that the Jets fans leave the game happy and the Giants fans leave the game sad. This is one of the premier matchups in the league. Quite honestly, this is bragging rights."
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