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New York, New York! Giants, Jets both win for the first time in a long time

"Confident, confident," Jabrill Peppers said, to himself or to the air or maybe to the entire Superdome. He was twitching, waiting for the coin toss to determine possession in his New York Giants' overtime against the New Orleans Saints, and when the coin came up heads, he couldn't contain himself.

"BOOM! We want that motherf—r!" Peppers shouted, pulling an imaginary ball into his gut.

"Looks like you've got to kick it," the official said to the Saints' Malcolm Jenkins. The Saints did, and never saw the ball again. Ten plays and 75 yards later, Saquon Barkley rumbled into the end zone, and the Giants captured their first win of the season, 27-21.

A few hundred miles to the northeast, in roughly the same witching-hour window, the Jets survived their own overtime, watching Tennessee's Randy Bullock push a 49-yard field goal attempt wide left to win their first game of the year, 27-24.

Doused in Gatorade, new Jets head coach Robert Saleh turned to rookie quarterback Zach Wilson, both of them celebrating their first NFL victory, and bellowed, "You having fun yet?"

“I am,” Wilson replied, smiling. “It's an interesting fun, though.”

Sure, both teams were celebrating like they won the Super Bowl. Or at least reached the playoffs. But cut them a little slack; victory isn't seen around New York all that often these days.

"We needed a win," said Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, "and there was a high sense of urgency." He was speaking of his own team, but he easily could have been speaking of his MetLife Stadium roommates, too.

Thing is, Two overtime wins in an afternoon is a mild oddity. Two overtime wins by both New York teams? That's never happened before in NFL history.

In fact, the two New York teams have been so hideously awful that the last time they both won on the same Sunday was nearly two years ago — December 22, 2019 to be exact. It's been a tough run for both teams — this isn't exactly breaking news to anyone over the age of six days — but wins over two putative playoff teams in New Orleans and Tennessee have to help with the self-image.

There's work to do. Lots and lots of work to do. The Jets and Giants entered the day tied for the worst record in the NFL since the start of 2017 at 18-49. Two wins later, and they're still the worst in the NFL, behind (ahead of?) the Jaguars at 22-46. But a win is a win, no matter how it's achieved.

It's not going to get any easier for either team. The Giants go to Dallas, then face the Rams and Carolina at home, then travel to Kansas City. The Jets travel to London to face Atlanta, then after an off week, visit New England and then face Cincinnati. Another two-win day for the Big Apple might be a while in coming. But at least there was Sunday — which also included a dramatic Yankee win to clinch a postseason bid — to bring back a few memories of the good ol' days.

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - OCTOBER 03: Saquon Barkley #26 of the New York Giants is tackled by Carl Granderson #96 and Marcus Williams #43 of the New Orleans Saints during the third quarter at Caesars Superdome on October 03, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter at @jaybusbee or contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com.