You can imagine every Jets fan impersonating Jerry Seinfeld and grunting “Newman!” through clenched teeth after the Jets fumbled away a snap.
Then again, that scenario assumes that any Jets fan knew Xavier Newman’s name by the time that the fourth-string center took over Sunday in the second quarter.
So, who is Newman? He is a practice-squad player who was elevated to the game-day roster as a backup, was pressed into action at guard and then forced into an even tougher spot at center because of two teammates’ injuries, and overcame a key mistake to rescue the Jets from a pickle in a stunning 13-10 victory against the Giants.
“That’s one of the toughest situations in football,” right tackle Max Mitchell told The Post. “Losing two guys who play center is not fun to deal with. What he did was outstanding. I have nothing but respect and admiration for him for doing that. That’s hard as s- -t to do.”
The Jets started the game minus starting left guard (and backup center) Joe Tippman. When center Connor McGovern (knee) went down, left guard Wes Schweitzer slid to center and Newman entered at left guard. When Schweitzer (calf) went down, Newman was called on to snap for the first time in an NFL regular-season game.
“In the moment, it’s kind of crazy how everything happened,” Newman said. “You just have to keep that tunnel vision and lock in on what you have to do next.”
Newman said he played center in the preseason for the Titans and has tried to stay sharp in practice since joining the Jets on Oct. 5 in case of emergency. Well, the alarms certainly sounded Sunday — and they only got louder after the first exchange between Newman and quarterback Zach Wilson resulted in a turnover.
“Me and Zach communicated on the fly and worked through some things, whether it was during halftime or on the sideline, so I want to give hats off to him,” Newman said. “In this game, you have to have short-term memory. I had to come back to center and forget about it, knowing I can’t let it affect the rest of the snaps.”
Newman owes his spot on the team to relationships with pass-game coordinator Todd Downing and offensive line coach Keith Carter, who were with the Titans when he signed as an undrafted rookie last season. He made his NFL debut in December but only played career 16 regular-season offensive snaps before Sunday.
“Coming into the game knowing if something happens, I’m the first guy to go in … you still have to have that mindset that you are going to play like a starter,” Newman said. “When I went in, it was good knowing I had an opportunity.”
McGovern (cast) and Schweitzer (crutches) were spotted in the postgame locker room but require further evaluation, head coach Robert Saleh said.