The Patriots are winners of ten in a row, and own the league’s best record at 11-2 at their bye week. They are walking in rarified air that we haven’t seen in Foxborough in several years.
This week was supposed to be the trap game, and with the left side of the offensive line out injured, a very real Giants’ pass rush was supposed to keep Drake Maye and the offense in check.
The Giants were getting back Jaxson Dart, and he was supposed to make it even closer. Well, none of that happened. The offensive line’s pass blocking was outstanding, and Drake Maye carved the Giants up in the pivotal first half.
Let’s face it, this one was over by the break, with the Patriots up 30-7, and it could have easily been much worse.
While there are still some that spew the “Look at their schedule,” nonsense, consider this. The Patriots beat the same Carolina team by 29 points that just defeated the Rams, the consensus #1 team last week in the power rankings, if you buy into that stuff.
The bye week came at a perfect time. They have back-to-back challenging games on the schedule against Buffalo and Baltimore, but this week, everything looks rosy.
So, as we always do, let’s break it down by position
Quarterback: A
We’re running out of superlatives to say about Drake Maye. This was his first Monday Night Football game, and he was excellent. He appears so calm and poised in the pocket (but not too poised, right Brian Burns?) that he makes it look easy. And it is not.
Maye finished 24-31 (77.4 percent) for 282 yards (9.09 yards per attempt) with two touchdowns and zero interceptions for a passer rating of 126.0. The Giants tried to dial up the blitz against Maye, and he was even better: 9-12 for 148 yards and two TDs for a passer rating of 155.56.
The MVP chants were getting louder on Monday night, and he did nothing to hurt his case. Those two TD passes were absolute dimes, one short, one long.
Running Backs: B+
TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson had solid games on Monday night. Henderson is improving week by week, and he had 67 yards rushing on just 11 carries. He added 19 yards on three catches. He just seems close to breaking one much more often now.
Stevenson, who is still on the mend from his toe injury, ran for 40 yards on 12 carries and added 40 more on three catches.
That’s a combined 86 yards for Henderson and 80 for Stevenson. Those are the kind of numbers the Patriots would be very pleased with. Henderson did give up a sack in pass protection, but overall, the coaches have to be pleased.
Wide Receivers: A
The wide receivers are all producing. The funny thing is, none of them had an outstanding game, but they all had their numbers called and answered the bell.
Kayshon Boutte led the way with four catches for 35 yards and a touchdown. His TD catch, in the corner of the end zone, was a beauty. Demario Douglas had three catches for 33 yards, Stefon Diggs had three catches for 26 yards, and Mack Hollins had three catches for 23.
Rookie Kyle Williams had just one catch, but that was a gorgeous deep ball by Maye and an even better catch by Williams for a 33-yard touchdown. And stop the whining Giants’ fans, he was in bounds.
Everyone played, everyone ate courtesy of Maye. But the big guy was the biggest receiver on the night.
Tight Ends: A-
Hunter Henry led all receivers with four catches for 73 yards. And he just missed another 100-yard game, when his 30-yard touchdown was called back due to offsetting penalties, where he was as wide open as one can get.
Henry remains Drake Maye’s security blanket, and he’s having one of his best seasons. He and Austin Hooper were active in running blocking as well. Hooper surprisingly wasn’t targeted, but the duo along Jack Westover did their job.
Offensive Line: A
This was the matchup that was supposed to favor the Giants. Everyone’s favorite whipping boy from 2024, Vederian Lowe, was outstanding at left tackle, filling in for Will Campbell, while Ben Brown was equally as good, taking over for an injured Jared Wilson.
Morgan Moses had another strong game along with Michael Onwenu. There was one play where Moses flattened not one, not two, but three Giants. The running game is still hit or miss, but getting 29 carries, 119 yards for 4.1-yard average is something the team can live with.
Defensive Line: B
The defensive line, playing without Milton Williams and Khyiris Tonga, had some issues against the Giants’ solid running game. Notably, they were gashed for a 22-yard touchdown run by Devin Singletary.
But the level of play by the depth guys, Cory Durden, Elijah Ponder, Joshua Farmer, and Anfernee Jennings, all played physical and with an edge. The defense sacked Dart twice and pressured him on more than 36 percent of his dropbacks.
Linebackers: A
Christian Elliss led the team with 10 tackles and a pass defensed, but nothing set the tone more than his play along the sideline, where he absolutely leveled Dart as the QB was trying to run for a first down.
The hit sent Dart flying several yards into the Giants’ bench. And yes, it was completely legal, shoulder to shoulder with a runner who had no intention of running out of bounds. Mike Vrabel used it as a teaching point to Drake Maye: “Don’t try to get cute along the sidelines.”
Calling it a dirty play is just sour grapes. Learn how to slide, or get used to taking hits.
However, the rest of the linebackers were playing a hard, physical brand of football. Marte Mapu flattened one of the Giants’ receivers and had two passes defensed. Robert Spillane (who didn’t play as much as usual), Jahlani Tavai, and Jack Gibbens all had big plays.
Secondary: A-
The Patriots’ cornerbacks (Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, and Marcus Jones) were outstanding in man coverage, an area where Dart has struggled. Apart from one 30-yard play in which Dart burned the Patriots on a Cover Zero blitz (which has become a common occurrence), they made life difficult for the rookie quarterback.
The safeties were good, but Jaylinn Hawkins got flagged for a 15-yard penalty on a third down. The next play was Darius Slayton’s 30-yard touchdown. It is hard to find much to complain about when Dart threw for just 139 yards.
Special Teams: A-
The Patriots’ Special Teams set the tone from the opening kickoff when Terrell Jennings returned it 39 yards to give the offense excellent field position.
The Patriots’ Marcus Jones is so much fun to watch. In our pregame write-up in my Sunday column, I wrote that Jones was due for a big game. And he certainly produced. With the Patriots up 3-0, the Giants punted, trying to pin the Patriots deep in their own zone. Jones took the punt at the six-yard line and raced 94 yards for a touchdown.
Jones returned three punts for 124 yards. After his touchdown, he had two more returns for 30 yards. He’s dynamic with the ball in his hands.
Eliss also had a thunderous hit on former Patriot Gunner Olszewski, who had to be helped off the field. Andy Borregales had four more field goals but missed one wide left. Bryce Barringer’s first punt was a horrible shank that went 22 yards. But neither of those plays can take away the strong game the STs had.
Coaches: A
Mike Vrabel and the coaching staff preached the “No Naps” mantra this week, ensuring the team didn’t look too far forward to the bye week. It worked to a tee. The team dominated the Giants in all three phases of the game.
Now they’re on a well-deserved and needed bye week. 11-2, who would have thought this back in January when Vrabel was hired?
The team has some things to clean up next week before they face the Bills at Gillette Stadium. And yes, it is a “hat and t-shirt game.”
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A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)
I thought the D was fine with the Giants running the ball in the second half up 23 pts. So the game stats are a smidge rubbish to me. And still the Giants didn’t even get great stats running either. But, it is true, the pats did soften a bit even before Milton Williams went out. But is it nit-picking that the pats can’t hold teams to 65yds running, and it jumps to 110 etc? Answer: No. 65 or whatever it was, is an insane low number. The Pats D line has developed a good rotational depth with Farmer, Durbin… Read more »
Steve, great content as always. Thank you for your service!