It’s getting to be that part of the season where teams vying for division titles need to start winning. If both the Jets, and Giants truly want to be considered contenders for their respective Eastern Division titles, winning this week is a must.

After a 5-0 start for the Giants, things have begun to go downhill a bit. It started with a 48-27 loss to a New Orleans Saints team that has proved unbeatable so far this season. It was billed as a matchup of two of the best teams in football, and eventually showed the Giants have a long way to go if they want to contend for that mantle. Eli Manning, who has a long history of uneven performances in games just like that one, completed just 14 of 31 passes for 178 yards a touchdown, and an interception.

A Giants defense that had looked dominating for most of the season up until that point was picked apart over and over by Drew Brees to the tune of over 360 yards and four touchdowns.

Then last week, the season took another hit. The Sunday night loss to the Arizona Cardinals might actually have been far more damaging to the Giants hopes for the season mainly because the Cards have not been the dominating force that the Saints have been. While the Cardinals have bounced back nicely from a 1-2 start by winning three straight, they aren’t a juggernaut that New York should be unable to defeat. The 24-17 loss was marked by Eli’s continued unimpressive play, this time completing just 19 of 37 passes, and throwing three interceptions.

In the Giants first five games (all wins) Manning completed 64 percent of his passes for 1,212 yards, 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions. In his last two games (both losses) Manning has completed just 49 percent of his passes, and thrown only two touchdowns compared to four interceptions. Against the Philadelphia Eagles this week, he has to reverse that trend, or rish his team falling out of first place in the East. New York holds just a half game lead over the Eagles.

Like the Giants, the Jets started off looking like one of the best teams in the league, going 3-0 before suddenly hitting a snag in their playoff plans, losing three in a row. Unlike the Giants, the Jets have already begun their road to recovery with a convincing 38-0 win over the Oakland Raiders a week ago.

Just a game behind division leading New England, the Jets take on a reeling Miami Dolphins team that came into the season with high hopes but an injury to Chad Pennington, and an inconsistent offense has left them at just 2-4 so far this year. Even with Miami struggling, the Jets are well aware that one of Miami’s two wins came against them.

The Jets in general have had problems knocking off the division’s weaker teams. Despite handling the Patriots in their first matchup, two of their three losses have come against the Bills and Dolphins.

Like the Giants, the Jets slide can be directly traced to their quarterback suddenly forgetting how to play football. In the process, the Jets might have shown the Giants the blueprint for how to get off the snyde. In the Jets slump snapping win, New York limited Mark Sanchez’s ability to hurt the team, running the ball almost constantly and allowing Sanchez to throw the ball just 15 times.

Considering that Manning threw 37 times in their last game, and racked up three interceptions, and the fact that the Giants have the capability to pound the rock on the ground in Brandon Jacobs, getting back to the basics; or staying with the basics in the Jets’ case, could provide the teams with big wins.

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