NEW YORK JETS, NEW YORK GIANTS PLAYING BACK-TO-BACK IN NEW JERSEY

I’s rare, but it can happen and will happen this weekend in East Rutherford, N.J.

That’s where Metro Life Stadium is, and that’s where the National Football League’s New York Jets and New York Giants play. But the schedule usually has one at home and the other on the road, but not this weekend.

No, this is now a rush, rush setting up for both games. On Sunday morning the Jets (1-1) are home to the winless Cincinnati Bengals (0-2), kickoff 11 a.m. On Monday night, kickoff 6:15 p.m., the 2-0 Giants take the same field with a visit from conference rival Dallas Cowboys (1-1).

Here’s the problem. When the Jets play there, the stadium becomes green and white, the end zones this time will have the Jets and Cincinnati laid out. Then comes the Giants and the stadium becomes blue and red, and the end zones will lay out the Giants and Dallas.

That’s correct, as soon as the Jets’ game is over, the stadium crew has to remove all the green and white and replace it with the blue and red. It’s not easy to do, especially with such a limited time from about 2 o’clock Sunday afternoon to about 4 o’clock late Monday afternoon.

“We did a double take when we saw the schedule,” said stadium crew employee Dan Devine, “because it’s usually very rare. So now we take in the Jets game then get to rearrange the team colors all over the place. It will take awhile but will be done a few hours before Giants game.”

Usually, the Giants play first at Dallas, this time they are home and a 3-point favorite. But the Bengals, winless in their first two starts, is actually a 7-point pick despite the Jets spiting their two outings and being the home team.

Said Devine: “We sure don’t want Giants fans arriving and spotting some green and white colors, so we make sure it doesn’t happen.”