|
Giants (2-10) Patriots (10-2)
The Cincinnati Bengals got off to a good start
last Sunday in their game with the New England Patriots. They held a 10-0 lead
until the Patriots scored three times in a row in the second quarter. The Patriots
continued to hold onto their lead in a close game, and ended the contest with
a 26-20 win over the Bengals.
On Sunday the Giants had a very late fourth quarter
27-24 lead over the Detroit Lions. On a fourth-and-goal at the Detroit 6-yard
line, a short field goal would have given them 30 points. A failed attempt on
a pass play led to the Lions tying the game with their own field goal, and later
winning in overtime 34-27. New
England Patriots
The New England Patriots
are at the top of their division, and have beaten every other team in it. The
Patriots have won their last 9 games in a row, and are two wins ahead of the second
place Buffalo Bills, who hold a 8-4 record. In their five remaining games, the
Patriots will be playing all the division teams they beat, the Jets (3-9), Miami
Dolphins (5-7), and Bills (8-4).
The Giants (2-10) are up next before both
of these teams enjoy the final NFL bye week of the season. Two weeks after that,
the Patriots will face off with the Baltimore Ravens (6-5). The way things are,
the 10-2 New England Patriots look to have a good shot at taking the AFC East
Division Title. New England
Patriots Offense
The Patriots poor performance in 2023 enabled
them to have the third overall pick in the 2024 draft. They used it on quarterback
Drake Maye, and the rookie got his start after sitting out the first five games
(1-4). Maye couldn't do it all on his own, and three additional wins had the team
finishing with a 4-13 record. A new head coach, and another good draft has given
Maye all the tools he needs, and he has taken advantage of that. Maye's passing
numbers have all climbed, and he's completing 71 percent of his passes, the highest
of all quarterbacks, with 21 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.
Tools included
the Patriots using a fourth overall pick in the draft on left tackle Will Campbell,
and they added left guard Jared Wilson in the third round. The Patriots also signed
center Garrett Bradbury and right tackle Morgan Moses in free agency. The team
has gone from last place in passing offense to 6th, and from 30th in points scored
per game to 7th. They've increased their average to 26.5 points a game, which
is 9.5 more than it was last year.
Stefon Diggs is the lead receiver catching
61 of 75 passes for 679 yards, and he has 3 touchdowns. Tight end Hunter Henry
and wide receiver Kayshon Boutte are behind him, and each have caught 5 touchdowns.
Rookie TreVeyon Henderson is the only running back to have played in all the games,
and is the lead rusher with 118 carries for 558 yards and 5 touchdowns, and he
has caught another. It should be noted that both starting offensive linemen, Campbell
and Wilson, will be out for this game, as they both suffered injuries last week
in Cincinnati. New England
Patriots Defense
They
let the Bengals get off to a 10-0 start last game, and things could have turned
out differently if Cincinnati had Ja'Marr Chase on the field. The Patriots defense
caught a break, as the Bengals top wide receiver was on a one game suspension
for spitting on a player the week before. Quarterback Joe Burrow also wasn't available
for that game. The average of 87.7 total rushing
yards per game this defense allows has them ranked second in the NFL to the Jacksonville
Jaguars (83.8).
That's a big improvement over last year's 131.4 average per
game. The defense slipped a bit last week with running back Chase Brown rushing
for 107 yards on 15 carries, a 5.6 per carry average. In fact, over the last three
games they've been giving up more rushing yards. In the Jets game they gave up
140 rushing yards, including quarterback Justin Fields 11 carries for 67 yards
and one touchdown. Jaxson Dart is back for the Giants, and the Patriots will have
to factor in his ability to do the same.
This defense is stingy when it comes
to giving up points. They rank 6th in the NFL, allowing less than 19 points a
game. They had 28 total sacks last year, which was the lowest number in the NFL.
They currently have 25, and linebackers Harold Landry and K'Lavon Chaisson each
have 6.5. Landry is listed as questionable because of a knee injury. Cornerback
Marcus Jones has 3 of the teams 8 interceptions, including the one he had last
week. NY
Giants Offense
Jameis Winston served them
well in Jaxson Dart's absence. In his two starts, the Giants held leads in the
fourth quarter. The defense failed to do their part, and potential wins turned
into losses. Dart will be back on the field for the Giants, and in his 7 starts,
has thrown 7 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, all in his first four games. Dart
has shown that he can be a dual threat, and has run for 317 yards and 7 touchdowns,
averaging 5.6 yards a carry.
Dart might be best off limiting those particular
skills, as he has had to be checked four times this season for concussions. Going
for the extra few yards has proven to be costly, and designed runs may be very
limited for Dart until he shows he's learned how to avoid hits in this week's
game plan against the Patriots. The offensive line has not been a weakness this
year. The run and pass blocking has been there. They are in the top ten teams
in rushing yards, and 13th in passing yards, averaging 22 points a game.
Last
week Wan'Dale Robinson caught 9 passes for 156 yards and 1 touchdown. Theo Johnson
pulled in 3 passes for 77 yards, and Tyrone Tracy was third with 3 catches for
68 yards. All in all, the team totaled 399 receiving yards with 3 touchdowns,
and Tracy and Devin Singletary combined for 109 rushing yards. The offense knows
how to bring it, and maybe some coaching decisions have been holding them back. Giants
Defense
Three quarterbacks have started
for the Giants this season, and each has had a high point scoring game become
a loss. The Giants lost to Dallas 40-37 with Russell Wilson. Dart was in for a
33-32 loss to the Broncos, and last week with Jameis Winston it was a 34-27 loss
to the Lions. The Giants could have had 30 points in that game if they kicked
an easy field goal, but that's the other matter. The decision was made based on
the fact that interim head coach Mike Kafka had no confidence the defense would
hold up with just a 6 point lead over the last three minutes of the game. Getting
to the end zone would have given them an almost certain 10 point lead, and a win.
That decision has been debated, as the defense couldn't defend the three point
lead they had when the Giants bid for a touchdown on fourth down failed. The Lions
tied up the game with a field goal. On the first play in overtime, Lions running
back Jahmyr Gibbs, ran the ball 69 yards for a touchdown. The next day the Giants
made a coaching change, and defensive coordinator Shane Bowen was let go. Outside
linebackers coach Charlie Bullen became the interim defensive coordinator, and
he will be calling plays for the first time in his career against the New England
Patriots. The Patriots have been successful, but have to shift things up a bit
with two of their offensive line starters out for this game.
Their concern
would center on the Giants pass rushing abilities. Brian Burns has 13 sacks on
the season, and he will be testing their two backups. Rookie Abdul Carter could
see more of his quarterback pressures become sacks if the Patriots have trouble
adjusting. With Kayvon Thibodeaux out, Carter will have more opportunities. Cornerback
Paulson Adebo will be back after missing five games, and that will be a big plus
for the secondary coverage. Dexter Lawrence was spelled a few times last week
dealing with an elbow issue, and his run blocking was sorely missed. Lawrence
will be needed on the field to do as much as he's capable of, if the Patriots
decide to rely more on their rushing attack.
Overall
This game will be the first time the New England
Patriots and New York Giants will play against each other in a Monday Night Football
game. They've faced off many times before over the years. This week the Giants
will be up against one of the two top 10-2 teams holding the best record in NFL.
Hey, think back to when the Giants took on the 18-0 undefeated Patriots in Super
Bowl XLII.
They came away with an unexpected win then, and Giants fans were
elated. It ended up with some countries in need being gifted tee shirts that said
'19-0' and 'Perfect Season'. It's way different circumstances now, and It will
be hard for any Giants fan to feel anything close to being 'elated' with an unexpected
win here, but if it happens, just think back and enjoy your old memories. NFC
East Games
Thursday at 4:30pm Chiefs (6-5)
at Cowboys (5-5-1).------- Final - Cowboys 31 - Chiefs 28
Friday at 3:00pm
Bears (8-3) at Eagles (8-3) ------------------ Final - Bears 24 - Eagles 15
Sunday
at 8:20pm Broncos (9-2) at Commanders (3-8) --- Final - Broncos 27 - Commanders
26
Monday at 8:15pm Giants (2-10) at Patriots (10-2)
The Eagles were the
only NFC East team favored to win in these games.
Check out.
Giants
On The Air. Listen to the Radio Broadcasts.
TeamGiants on Twitter.
Next Games
Dec
14 Commanders at Giants
Dec 21 Vikings at Giants
|
