Saints 34, Giants 27. Patriots 26, Jets 19. Late rallies could not repair the earlier damage.

The Giants and Jets each lost by seven points Sunday. That resemblance belongs to the final scores, not the way either game was played. New Orleans won 34-27 at MetLife Stadium. New England beat the Jets 26-19 in Foxborough. Both New York teams rallied after falling well behind.

The useful question is not whether they kept competing. They did. It is how much they left themselves to recover, and which opportunities had already gone before the final possession.

A 10-0 lead became a 24-point hole

The Giants led 10-0, then allowed 34 straight points. Their official recap records four turnovers. That combination changed a promising home start into a game requiring an almost complete fourth-quarter rescue.

J.J. McCarthy replaced Jameis Winston with 11:25 remaining and New York trailing 34-10. The Giants scored the last 17 points. Their final opportunity ended on fourth-and-one at the Saints 14, when McCarthy's end-zone pass for Isaiah Likely fell incomplete with 12 seconds left. New Orleans then took a knee. The Giants are 3-2-1; the Saints are 2-4.

New Orleans' account identifies the kickoff fumble forced by Isaiah Stalbird and recovered by Oscar Delp as a turning point before halftime. Tyler Shough threw three touchdown passes. The Giants' late offense made a one-possession finish possible, but it did not undo the possessions they had given away. McCarthy's appearance is a verified development, not an announced decision about next week's starter.

The Jets made chances, but not enough touchdowns

The Jets reached halftime down 17-3. Two first-half fourth-down attempts ended short, and their opening possession produced a field goal after a touchdown pass was erased by offensive pass interference. The problem was not simply failing to move the ball. It was failing to turn enough early work into touchdowns.

Omar Cooper Jr. supplied a genuine bright spot: a 48-yard touchdown catch and 103 receiving yards in his return from injured reserve. Geno Smith finished with 252 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception. The Jets also forced two second-half fumbles, according to the team's recap.

Yet New England used a late 13-play drive lasting more than six minutes to reach a field goal. The Jets' last field goal came with 32 seconds remaining. New York falls to 2-4; the Patriots improve to 4-2. Cooper's production matters, but it cannot stand in for the scoring opportunities the offense missed.

Close at the finish is not the same as controlled

There is something to preserve in each rally without treating either as a moral victory. The Giants have a damaging stretch of turnovers and unanswered scoring to explain. The Jets have to make more of possessions before the clock becomes another opponent. Seven points can describe a close finish while concealing how much of an afternoon a team spent trying to recover.