Thoughts & Analysis on Patriots vs Giants

The New England Patriots lost to the New York Giants 24 - 20 on Sunday afternoon, as the team now finds themselves in a rare two game losing streak. After such a disappointing loss, there is certainly a lot to digest and discuss. Here are some thoughts and analysis on the game. -

Tom Brady struggled with his decision making and accuracy on Sunday. (FILE:Icon/SMI)

- The Patriots did not have their best game on Sunday, which resulted in the Giants coming back from behind to steal the game. After Tom Brady hit Rob Gronkowski for a 14-yard touchdown pass, I felt the team had overcome a mediocre performance, but would ultimately pull out the win at home. Unfortunately, the defense allowed New York to drive the field and New England lost their first home game since November 30, 2008.

- Last Sunday in Pittsburgh, the patriots defense was completely dominated. This week, I thought the looked like a completely different unit. The defense kept the Patriots in the game after another week of poor offensive execution. In the fourth quarter, however, the Giants drove down the field 80 yards for the winning touchdown. A very frustrating and disheartening sight for everyone in Patriots Nation.

- New England's offense was lackluster to say the least on Sunday. Tom Brady had a very poor game and his accuracy was an issue for the games entirety. He finished with an overall stat line of 28 of 49 for 342 yards, with two touchdowns, two interceptions and one lost fumble.

- Chad Ochocinco was targeted five times, but did not have a catch in yesterday's content. The timing between him and Brady was off during the game, but there did seem to be some improvement. Personally, I believe Brady's poor throws were the reason the two did not connect, but I do not know if Ochocinco was where he needed to be on each play.

- Brandon Spikes had another good game, which was highlighted by blowing up Giants tight end Jake Ballard on an 8 yard reception after the catch just short of the first down marker. Spikes' development and gradual improvement gives the team some optimism from a defensive perspective moving forward.

- New England's special teams was horrendous yesterday. Julian Edelman's lost fumble and Stephen Gostkowski hooked a 27 yard field goal attempt, squandering a scoring opportunity at the end of the first half. This was the first time they had been shutout in the first half in 74 games.

- Patriots safety Serjio Brown committed an egregious pass interference penalty at the end of the game, but he was surprised he was flagged for the play. "I got my head back, looking at the ball, and tried to make a play on the ball," said Brown, "I guess we got tangled up. I was looking at the ball, trying to make a play on it. Our feet got tangled up, and they called it on me."

- In his post game presser, Tom Brady said "We'll see what our team is made of this week," and I could not agree more. This is a crucial time for this team moving forward and the next three games will be a tough stretch of opponents.

- Injuries will be a storyline to closely monitor in the next few days. Patrick Chung, Josh Barrett, Gary Guyton and Brandon Spikes were among the several players injured for New England during the game. Hopefully, the team turns out to be relatively healthy before their game against the New York Jets next week.

Final Stats:

Total net offensive yards: 438 yards

Total net passing yards: 332 yards

Total net rushing yards: 106 yards

Tom Brady: 28-of-49 for 342 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions

Wes Welker: 9 catches for 136 yards

Rob Gronkowski: 8 catches for 101 yards and a TD

Aaron Hernandez: 4 catches for 35 yards and a TD

Overall, this loss is tough to swallow for the Patriots faithful. There were some positives to take away from the game, but New England played poorly for the second straight week. Next week the team travels to the Meadowlands to face the New York Jets in a Sunday night showdown.

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