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10 takeaways from Patriots' Monday night win over New York Giants
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- 10 takeaways from Patriots' Monday night win over New York Giants
FOXBOROUGH – The New York Giants ’ 2-10 record looked deceiving. They came into Gillette Stadium having taken the Detroit Lions into overtime. They also lost to the Green Bay Packers by 7 points and the Chicago Bears by 4 points before that.
The Patriots , meanwhile, limped into Monday night’s matchup without two starting offensive linemen ( Will Campbell and Jared Wilson ) and two starting defensive tackles ( Milton Williams and Khyiris Tonga ).
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After nearly losing to the Cincinnati Bengals , it looked like Mike Vrabel’s team desperately needed a break.
Then, Monday night’s game started, and it was clear that the Patriots were firing on all cylinders. Instead of looking beaten up, Vrabel’s team looked energized and put on an impressive performance in front of their home crowd.
The Patriots ran over the Giants early on Monday night en route to a decisive 33-15 win. Vrabel’s team improves to 11-2 and heads into the bye week riding high. The Patriots have won 10 games in a row for the first time since the 2015 regular season.
Here’s what went down:
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Goal line struggles continued
The Patriots received a wide range of contributions to take an early lead on Monday. However, the offense opened up this game by once again struggling near the goal line.
Terell Jennings returned the opening kickoff 39 yards to set the Patriots up near midfield on their first drive. The offense had a balanced attack out of the gate with Rhamondre Stevenson picking up the first down. Maye picked up the next two first downs with passes to Stefon Diggs (13 yards) and Hunter Henry (10 yards).
The offense was set up with a first-and-goal from the 6-yard line. However, much like in Cincinnati, the Patriots went cold near the goal line. The unit ultimately settled for a 22-yard field goal from Andy Borregales to take a 3-0 lead at 9:14 of the first quarter.
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Marcus Jones extends lead
The Patriots defense started fast – and the special teams unit took care of the rest.
The Patriots forced the Giants to punt in their opening drive. That turned out to be a problem for New York as Marcus Jones returned Jamie Gillan ’s punt 94 yards for a touchdown.
The All-Pro returner became the fourth player in Patriots history to return two punts in one season for touchdowns, joining Troy Brown , Irving Fryer, and Mike Haynes. The score, at 5:17 of the first quarter, gave the Patriots a 10-0 lead.
Eliss levels Dart
Things got chippy on Monday night, and it didn’t take long for a fight to break out in the first quarter.
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At 4:20 of the first quarter, Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart ran out of the pocket and down the sideline. The rookie, however, stayed in bounds, and that’s when Christian Elliss leveled Dart with a thunderous tackle. The quarterback flew out of bounds as multiple players attacked Elliss.
The hit was deemed legal, and Giants tight end Theo Johnson was flagged for unnecessary roughness after the play.
Maye, Boutte extend lead
After watching the special teams unit get in the end zone, Maye’s unit followed suit.
The Patriots’ offense had no problem scoring in the red zone in their second drive of the game. This drive featured Maye hitting Hunter Henry for a 36-yard gain to set up a first-and-goal from the 6-yard line.
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On the next snap, Maye threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte to give the Patriots a 17-0 lead at 1:00 of the first quarter.
Penalty, big play hurts Patriots
Right when it looked like the Patriots were about to win in a blowout, the Giants answered.
New York put together their first scoring drive in the second quarter with some help from the Patriots. This series was aided by a 15-yard personal foul penalty on Patriots safety Jaylinn Hawkins , who hit Theo Johnson in the facemask. The third-down pass would’ve been incomplete, but the penalty moved the chains and proved costly.
On the next play, Dart hit Darius Slayton for a 30-yard touchdown, and the Patriots led, 17-7, at 12:46 of the second quarter. Hawkins, who gave up the penalty, was also beaten by Slayton for the score.
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Patriots take advantage of bizarre Giants play
After going up 17-0, it looked like the Patriots took their foot off the gas. Instead, the Patriots extended their lead once again following a bizarre, failed kick attempt.
After the Giants touchdown, the Patriots’ next drive ended in a three-and-out when the Patriots couldn’t convert on third-and-1. To make matters worse, Bryce Baringer shanked the ensuing punt 22 yards down the field.
The solid field position set the Giants up for a 47-yard field goal attempt at 6:28 of the second quarter. However, Giants kicker Younghoe Koo kicked the ground instead of the ball. Jeremiah Pharms ended up tacking long snapper Casey Kreiter for a play that was ruled a sack and turnover on downs.
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The Patriots took advantage of the solid field position, extending their lead to 24-7 when Maye hit rookie Kyle Williams for a 33-yard touchdown pass at 3:29 of the second quarter.
Elliss delivers another huge hit
Following Williams’ touchdown catch, the Patriots special teams unit stepped up again.
On the ensuing kickoff, Elliss delivered another crushing hit, this time on Giants returner Gunner Olszewski . The tackle knocked the ball loose, and Elijah Ponder jumped on it to give the ball back to the Patriots’ offense.
That turnover turned into another field goal with Borregales hitting the 30-yard to give the Patriots a 27-7 lead at 1:48 of the second quarter.
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The rookie kicker also hit a 28-yard field goal with time expiring to put the Patriots up 30-7 at the half.
Third quarter goes quiet
After an explosive first half, the third quarter slowed to a dull crawl.
The Giants opened up the third quarter by driving downfield and getting into field goal range. Since they were trailing 30-7, New York opted to go for it on fourth-and-6 from the 38-yard line. Dart’s pass was incomplete, and the Giants turned the ball over on downs.
The Patriots proceeded to drive downfield and converted on a fourth-and-6 when Maye hit Diggs for a 10-yard gain. However, the Patriots also came up empty as Borregales missed 45-yard field goal attempt at 4:13 of the third quarter.
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The third frame came and went without either team scoring a point.
Giants use wildcat to score
The Patriots were in command, but the Giants didn’t give up.
New York opened the fourth quarter with their second touchdown and added a 2-point conversion to bring the Patriots’ lead down to 30-15. The Giants scored when they put their offense in a wildcat formation. Devin Singletary took the snap and ran 22 yards for the touchdown at 14:56 of the fourth quarter.
On the 2-point conversion, Dart ran around in the back field, making multiple Patriots miss before connecting with Slayton.
Offense goes quiet
After scoring 30 points in the first two quarters, the Patriots went quiet in the second half.
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After Borregales’ miss in the third quarter, the offense got past midfield in their first drive of the fourth quarter. However, Maye was sacked on second down, leading to a third-and-12. The offense wasn’t able to get out of the hole, and the Patriots punted the ball back to the Giants, who showed signs of life.
The defense, however, held strong with the Patriots forcing another punt.
Maye’s group got near the end zone at the end of the fourth quarter, but stalled on the 6-yard line. Borregales hit a 23-yard field goal to put the Patriots up, 33-15, with 2:14 left in the game.
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