Jets know what’s on the line in rivalry game vs. Giants

Unless you’ve played in it, you don’t know what it’s like. But even the newbies know what’s at stake when the Jets and Giants face off.

“Because it’s two teams in the same city, it’s definitely a rivalry,” Jets receiver Brandon Marshall said Tuesday on Sirius XM’s “Mad Dog Sports Radio’’ show. “We definitely want to be known as the best team in New York, and we have to go out there and fight for that this weekend.”

For so long, the Jets have been considered the less talented little brother of the Giants, winners of two Super Bowls this century and four overall. But a win by the Jets Sunday could change the narrative as well as end the Giants’ five-game streak in the series. Playoff hopes are on the line for both the Jets (6-5) and Giants (5-6). And so is pride.

“It’s different having a team in your same hometown,” center Nick Mangold said Monday. “It’s something that until you experience it, you don’t really understand it. And I think it goes into how sharing a city and sharing a stadium is obviously a different experience than, let’s say, somewhere like Tennessee or Cincinnati, where you’re the only team there.”

Ryan Fitzpatrick never has experienced the rivalry during the regular season, although he was the Jets’ starting quarterback when they defeated the Giants, 28-18, in August in their annual preseason game. But he knows this game will feel much different.

“Already plenty of chatter around the community with different people that I know that are either Jets or Giants fans,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere that I’m looking forward to.”

Fitzpatrick said he even asked Mangold what to expect. “He just kind of talked about the significance of the game and the passion of the rivalry,” Fitzpatrick said.

At first, Mangold tried to downplay it.

“It’s an away game for us, even though we’re at our own stadium,” he said in his typical dry tone. “So the tickets are like every other away team. They’re usually in the upper deck. We park in the different parking lot. I think guys got a good experience with that in the preseason, since we were away.”

While the Jets have the playoffs on their minds, they’re still trying to hold true to the “one game at a time” edict handed down by Todd Bowles. And no, they’re not interested in revising the past, most notably their last regular-season meeting with the Giants four years ago. Sparked by a 99-yard touchdown by Victor Cruz, Tom Coughlin’s team ran away with a 29-14 Week 16 victory en route to defeating the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.

“That’s so long ago,” said Mangold, an 10-year veteran. “Shoot, I assume there are only a handful of guys left that actually played in that game. It was so long ago that I don’t think it has any bearing on this game. This is just the next step in our season here.”

Since 2011, much has changed for both franchises, and a lot can change on Sunday, too.

“I know they won Super Bowls and all that,” Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson said Tuesday during his weekly radio spot on WFAN. “But you’re only as good as your last game.”

Notes & quotes: Rex Ryan’s Bills signed DT T.J. Barnes off the Jets’ practice squad.