New York’s two starting quarterbacks lead NFL in turnovers since beginning of 2013; their worst games examined

Aug 22, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith (7) reacts heading to the bench against the New York Giants during the first quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Quarterback is the most scrutinized position in the NFL and most-likely in all professional sports. And no where in America is there more scrutiny of professional athletes than in New York City. The combination of these two factors can be explosive. Both lofty praise and disdain, upon intense examination, are attainable for the signal callers of the New York Giants and the New York Jets.

The Giants’ polarizing quarterback Eli Manning has had some incredible success in the NFL. He’s a two-time Super Bowl Champion and MVP and no one can take that away from him. His presence in NFL history is firmly in place, as are his many classic ‘Sad Eli faces.’ The Jets’ young quarterback Geno Smith has shown some flashes of great ability and maturity in his short career, but has made more than a handful of mistakes, too. That said, I’m expecting big things out of him in the coming years. But since these two have been in New York together, they’re unfortunately known for essentially one thing — turnovers.

Since the beginning of the 2013 season Eli Manning has thrown 31 interceptions versus 21 touchdowns. In that same span of games Smith has thrown for 23 interceptions versus 14 touchdowns. Manning has lost two fumbles over that time, pushing his total number of turnovers to 33 in 18 games. Smith has lost five fumbles since the beginning of 2013, giving him 28 turnovers over the 18-game slate.

Between New York’s two quarterbacks they’ve committed 61 turnovers, in just 36 games, since they’ve been together in New York.

Sep 14, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) reacts against the Arizona Cardinals during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Giants 25-14. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

This means that the two players at the most highly scrutinized position, in the most highly scrutinizing city, have been the worst in the entire NFL at protecting the ball in the last two seasons. Not surprisingly they’ve combined for an abysmal record of 16-20 record since 2013 (Jets 9-9, Giants 7-11). Can you imagine how entertaining a game between these two squads would be? The Battle for New York would have the potential to be the most turnover-filled game of the year.

The second worst combination of quarterbacks since the beginning of the 2013 season, in terms of turnovers, is Baltimore Ravens’ QB Joe Flacco and Arizona Cardinals’ QB Carson Palmer. Together they’ve accounted for 51 turnovers over the last 18 weeks (10 less than Manning and Smith). Flacco is a Super Bowl winner and MVP. Palmer is the only player to throw for 4,000 yards with three different teams in NFL history. Both seen their share of success in the NFL. Quarterback is a tough position and turnovers are hard to avoid; just ask Manning, Smith or any football fan in the New York City Tri-State area.

We’ve included each of Manning’s and Smith’s five worst games since they’ve been quarterbacking New York’s two NFL franchises together.