Battle of New York: Jets vs. Giants
Main article: Giants–Jets rivalry
Over the years, there have actually been several NFL teams playing in the New York City metropolitan area, but the Giants and the Jets are the only surviving teams.
The modern rivalry dates back to 1970, when the Giants beat the Jets 22-10 at Shea Stadium. The Jets won 4 of the next 6 meetings to take a 4-3 series lead heading into the 1996 meeting.
One of the more memorable contests was in 1974. The game went into overtime - 1974 was the first year of overtime in the regular season. The Jets and Giants played a back-and-forth game, with most of the time having either the score tied or the Giants in the lead. Entering overtime, the score was tied at 20, but the Jets would take the victory when Joe Namath threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Emerson Boozer. This is seen as some as the true beginning of the rivalry. Oddly enough, it was not played in New York, but rather the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut - the Giants' then-home, Yankee Stadium, was being renovated and thus unavailable for use (New Haven is today considered part of the extended NYC metro area).
The rivalry became more heated in the 1980s, when the Jets left Shea Stadium to take residence as tenants in Giants Stadium. The Jets had to pay dues to the Giants. This ended in 2010 when MetLife Stadium opened - it is a joint partnership between both teams. Most recently, in 2011, the Giants defeated the Jets in a heated Christmas Eve match that had major playoff implications. The convincing victory propelled the Giants to a playoff run and eliminated the Jets from postseason contention.
The teams will meet next in 2015, and every four years after that.