Sunday’s game between the Jets and the Giants was a battle of attrition that needed extra time to decide a winner.

With players on both sides dropping at an alarming rate and the defences forcing a stalemate, the Jets somehow won a 13-10 game in OT as Greg Zuerlein tied the game with a 35-yard field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter and then won it with a 33-yard boot in overtime. The Jets’ second overtime win this season was their third consecutive victory and pushed their record to 4-3.

Zach Wilson struggled for most of the game, but Graham Gano missed a 35-yard field-goal attempt wide left that left the door open for a comeback. With 24 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Wilson completed consecutive 29-yard completions to Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard. Wilson spiked the ball with 1 second left, setting up the first of Zuerlein’s two clutch kicks.

“Initially before the ball is snapped we’re thinking ‘clock situation, get the ball down and get a shot to a Hail Mary’”, HC Robert Saleh said of the team’s final drive in regulation. “Thankfully, they gave us a free play, get the explosive and gave us a chance to get in field goal range. So, it’s a series of sloppy ball all around, but they never ask how, they ask how many.”

Then in OT, the Jets defence forced a three-and-out and Wilson got the ball back to lead the heroics. The Jets finally found success on third down as G. Wilson (7-100) got 11 yards on a third-and-10 and then Malik Taylor, a practice squad call up, drew a 30-yard pass interference penalty. Zuerlein ended one of the wildest games in the Metropolitan rivalry the next play.

“Playing great defense, all that stuff, that’s sustainable,” Saleh said. “Making mistakes, penalties, turnovers, not sustainable. The good news is that we can correct it on a W, but there’s a lot of things we have to clean up for sure.”

The Jets defence was dominant throughout, holding Tyrod Taylor and Tommy DeVito to minus-9 yards passing and 0 completions in the second half. While the Giants went 2 of 19 on third down, the Jets offence had trouble sustaining drives. Wilson was sacked 4 times (lost a fumble), the Jets rushed for 2.6 yards a carry and went 2-for-15 on third down. In a game that featured 24 punts, Thomas Morstead was superb all afternoon, averaging 48.1 yards on 11 boots and landed four inside the 20 including three inside the 5-yard line.

Giants RB Saquon Barkley rushed for 128 yards on 36 tough carries and his 34-yard scamper on the second play of the second half was critical in a game that didn’t have many explosives. That play set the home team up on the Jets’ 35-yard line. The Green & White were flagged for a pair of unnecessary roughness penalties (Quincy Williams and Jermaine Johnson) that extended the Giants drive. The Green & White held a 7-3 lead at halftime, but DeVito’s 6-yard TD run on a run-pass option looked like it would hold up before the late-game drama.

The Giants lost Taylor (ribs) midway through the second quarter when he was driven to the ground on a split-sack by Jets LB C.J. Mosley and DL Quinton Jefferson.

“Thought our defence was awesome. The drive coming out of the locker room was disappointing, but those were self-inflicted I felt like. Overall, I thought our guys showed grit. It’s very easy to just cash in at the end of the game, feeling like the game is over, who cares if they get a first down. But they fought. I thought we were great on third down. For the most part I thought we did a nice job.”

The Jets were forced to scramble in front of Wilson all afternoon as starting C Connor McGovern exited with a knee injury after 18 snaps. Then Wes Schweitzer, who moved from RG to C, went down with a calf injury after 10 snaps and was replaced by Xavier Newman, a Saturday practice squad elevation, who was playing in his fifth pro game. Newman entered the game at right guard when Schweitzer moved to the pivot and finished the game at center. With the Jets down to an emergency center and the Giants turning to their third QB, a rock fight ensued.

It was a defensive slugfest from the onset, but Breece Lightning proved to be the perfect complement for the unrelenting rain. After an early Giants field goal, the teams exchanged six punts with the Jets inching forward in the field-position game.

Taking over at midfield late in the first quarter, Wilson threw a short pass to Hall and the second-year back did the rest. He avoided a couple of defenders in the center of the field, took off to the sideline and got a key block from TE C.J. Uzomah before leaping in the end zone for a 50-yard TD. Hall’s dash was the Jets’ first TD in the first quarter in 13 games.

The Giants recorded a takeaway on the Green & White’s fourth offensive play as Kayvon Thibodeaux had a strip-sack of Wilson that was recovered by LB Jihad Ward. But the Jets’ fourth-ranked red-zone defence stiffened and limited the Giants to a Gano 31-yard field goal.

The Jets defence was dominant over the first 30 minutes, holding the Giants to 74 total yards and 0 of 10 on third down. Neither team converted a third down before intermission and the teams combined for 15 punts. DeVito, a Don Bosco Prep HS alum, went 2 of 7 in relief of Taylor for -1 yard.

Jetcetera

The Jets offensive line transitioned into emergency mode Sunday against the Giants. Wes Schweitzer, who started at RG in place of Joe Tippmann (quad), moved over to center in the second quarter when Connor McGovern exited with a knee injury. Xavier Newman, a practice-squad elevation on Saturday, came in off the bench and finished the game at RG. …

DT Al Woods sustained an Achilles tendon tear in the second stanza and did not return. …

With his 50-yd scoring catch and run, Breece Hall now has 5 scrimmage plays of 50-plus yards, tied for second-most by RB in franchise history. …

Top Giants receiving threat TE Darren Waller left the game in the first quarter with a hamstring injury. …

The Jets were penalized 9 times and marked off for 85 yards, including two unnecessary roughness penalties (Quincy Williams and Jermaine Johnson) on the Giants’ lone TD drive. …

The Jets were credited with 4 sacks as Johnson led the way with 2. They also had 12 TFL.