New York Jets star Brandon Marshall teaches Giants rival trash talk lesson

EVERY sport has a line that should not be crossed when it comes to talking trash. This NFL star found out the hard way exactly where that line is.

New York Jets v Houston Texans

Talk trash about Brandon Marshall’s wife at your peril.

The Giants learned that the hard way Sunday as an insult from veteran defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins just before halftime inspired Marshall, and helped the Jets rally to a 23-20 overtime victory at MetLife Stadium.

Jenkins said something Marshall wouldn’t reveal about his “girl,” not realising the Jets star wide receiver is married.

Incensed, Marshall went after the much-bigger Jenkins as the teams were about to go into the halftime break, then went wild in the second half.

Marshall finished with 12 catches for 131 yards and a touchdown, with eight of those catches, 81 of those yards and the score all coming after Jenkins’ ill-fated insult.

“I believe in trash talk and some guys get up for that, but some things are off limits,” Marshall said.

“He made a comment — he said my ‘girl’ — and he didn’t know I was married.

“I don’t care. There’s not enough money on this earth for someone to disrespect my wife. I just tried to take it out in between the lines. I don’t care about anything at that point.”

Marshall and Jenkins weren’t flagged for their little dust-up, and it appeared to fire up the Jets as a whole a lot more than it did the Giants.

This is not a man you want to sledge.

Not only did Marshall pile up big numbers after going at Jenkins, but the Jets’ defence pitched a shut-out in the second half and overtime.

Although Marshall said Jenkins apologised during the two-minute warning after realising Marshall was married, that was too late to save the Giants.

Marshall’s biggest catch of the game — a nine-yard touchdown grab in traffic — tied the game 20-20 with 27 seconds left in regulation.

“That dude, he makes my job so easy,” Fitzpatrick said.

“We got single coverage [on the wide side of the field] and basically just threw it up and said, ‘Brandon, make a play.’ [He] came down with it, made it look easy. It’s not easy to do, but he made it look easy.”

Marshall said the touchdown was a blur.

“I wasn’t thinking,” he said.

“We still got time on the clock, we’ve got to believe. It’s been that way all year with this team. We never give up.”

Marshall said Jenkins was “a good sport” because he took back his comments, so there was no bad blood after the game.

Some words you can’t take back.

“The cool thing is, he didn’t know I was married, and we talked it through, and he said he didn’t mean to do it,” Marshall said.

“He thought maybe I had four or five girls or something.

“But I’m happily married to one woman. I love my wife, Michi Marshall, and I will fight to the end for her.

“So there you go, baby. He’s 500 pounds [305 pounds, actually], and I went after him for you.”

Proving that chivalry — unlike Jenkins’ team Sunday afternoon — is not dead.

Jenkins told ESPN

the game was heated because both teams desperately needed to win to keep their playoffs hopes alive.

“Well it’s December, you got two teams fighting for the right to continue to play into January,” Jenkins said.

“We’re both right there on the edge, and it’s a game that both teams need to win.”

Originally published as New York Jets star Brandon Marshall teaches Giants rival trash talk lesson