Patriots Roll Over The Giants 33-15, Enter Bye Week At 11-2
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The Patriots dominated all three phases of the game tonight, beating the New York Giants 33-15. With the win, the Patriots enter their bye week at 11-2 and with the best record in the NFL.
Drake Maye continued his outstanding play and is playing at an MVP level. He’s passed for 200+ yards every game this season and leads the NFL in passing yardage despite not throwing for 300 yards in a game this season.
Maye finished 24-31 for 282 yards with two touchdown passes for a passer rating of 126.0. He’s just on an incredible run this season. He’s definitely worthy of MVP consideration, although there are still four games to go. The way he slides up in the pocket took a lot of pressure off the edges, aiding in backup left
The Patriots led 30-7 at the half, and if there are downsides to this game, it is that the red zone issues continue to plague the team. Right off the bat, the Patriots drove down the field, but stalled inside the ten and had to settle for a field goal.
And they took their foot off the gas again in the second half. It was evident to Mike Vrabel as well. In his postgame presser, he mentioned the Patriots have to “finish better.” But the win was impressive.
The Patriots set the tone for physicality early and often in this one. They ran the opening kickoff back 39 yards on a nice return by Terrell Jennings. From there, they drove to a first and goal at the Giants’ seven-yard line but couldn’t punch it in. Andy Borregales kicked a 22-yard field goal to make it 3-0.
The Giants picked up one first down, but were forced to punt. Marcus Jones then made the play of the game with a 94-yard punt return for a touchdown, making it 10-0. That was Jones’ second punt return TD of the season.
Another Giants’ drive fizzled when QB Jaxson Dart, fresh off a concussion, tried to scramble for a first down along the right sideline. While still in bounds, Christian Elliss laid him out with a thunderous, but clean hit, launching Dart several yards out of bounds, causing a ruckus.
Giants’ TE Theo Johnson went after Elliss and was flagged 15 yards. The hit was on Dart, and if the Giants don’t want him to get hit, then he needs to run out of bounds. On the ensuing punt, Jones returned it 17 yards to the Patriots’ 39.
From there, the offense carved up the Giants’ defense, going 61 yards in five plays, including a 36-yard pass from Drake Maye to Hunter Henry, which put the Patriots at the three-yard line. On the next snap, Maye put a really nice pass right where Kayshon Boutte made a nice catch in the corner of the end zone. This put the Patriots up 17-0.
The Giants’ offense finally showed some life, scoring on a 30-yard quick slant from Dart to Darius Slayton. The Patriots came with a Cover Zero blitz and were burned, as the Giants made them pay. This came one play after Jaylinn Hawkins was flagged for a 15-yard helmet hit on a third down.
The Patriots went three-and-out, and the Giants went for a field goal when one of the strangest special-teams plays occurred. Kicker Younghoe Koo completely whiffed on the ball, hitting the turf instead. Jamie Gillan was dropped for a 13-yard loss, giving the Patriots the ball at the 42-yard line.
The Patriots drove to the Giants’ 33 and, facing a third-and-nine, Maye threw a gorgeous pass down the left sideline to rookie WR Kyle Williams for another highlight reel touchdown. The score made it 24-7.
The Giants fumbled the ensuing kickoff after another huge hit by Elliss, this time on former Patriot Gunner Olszewski. The offense stalled but Andy Borregales hit another field goal to put them up 27-7.
Right before the half, Maye carved the Giants up again, going 67 yards on five plays before calling a timeout with two seconds left in the half, where Borregales nailed his third field goal of the game to make it 30-7 at the break. This one was over, and it put to bed any notion that this was a “trap game.”
The second half was not as action-filled. Borregales missed a FG on the first drive. The Giants would score early in the fourth quarter on a nice 22-yard touchdown run by Devin Singletary. Facing a third-and-six at the Patriots 22, Singletary took a direct snap and did the rest.
The Patriots would add a final FG to round out the scoring.
Other observations include:
-Andy Borregales had another game with four field goals, although he missed one; it was another good night for the rookie.
-Great job by the left side of the offensive line. With Will Campbell and Jared Wilson out, Vederian Lowe and Ben Brown filled in admirably. The Giants’ pass rush, led by Brian Burns (13 sacks), was not the factor it was played up to be.
– Cory Durden and Eric Gregory were filling in along the defensive line with Milton Williams and Khyiris Tonga out. And they played well enough.
-The run defense was not great again, as the Giants ran for 111 yards and averaged 4.1 yards per rush.
– TreVeyon Henderson continues to build on his rookie season, rushing 11 times for 67 yards, showing the burst that he’s capable of.
-Mike Vrabel was asked if Elliss’ crushing hit on Dart along the sideline fired the team up. He answered, “I think our guys certainly did. I think our fans did. I think our team did.”
-Dart was held to just 139 yards passing and the Giants to just 250 yards of total offense.
The team can now get healthy next week and prepare for the Bills. That game against Buffalo will be a hat-and-t-shirt game. With a win, the Patriots would clinch the AFC East. It has been a while since they’ve had one of those.
Look for our positional report card asap.
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