Giants fall behind early, offer little fight in 33-15 loss to Patriots

Giants fall behind early, offer little fight in 33-15 loss to Patriots

Giants fall behind early, offer little fight in 33-15 loss to Patriots

Giants fall behind early, offer little fight in 33-15 loss to Patriots

In a matchup between the league’s hottest team and a team that has lost six in a row, Monday night’s game had a predictable outcome. The New England Patriots led by double-digits for most of the night as they breezed to a comfortable 33-15 win over the Giants.

New England scored first on a chip-shot field goal by Jose Borregales, after their opening drive used up six minutes but stalled inside the Giants’ five-yard line.

Four minutes later, after New York’s first drive stalled, Marcus Jones extended New England’s lead to 10-0 when he returned a punt 94 yards for a touchdown.

With a minute remaining in the first quarter, Drake Maye found Kayshon Boutte for a three-yard touchdown, as the lead was extended to 17-0. To that point, New York had nine total yards of offense on eight plays.

The Giants hit back on their next possession, with Darius Slayton catching a short pass from the returning Jaxson Dart and taking it the distance for a 30-yard score.

However, New England restored their 17-point lead on Maye’s 33-yard strike to Kyle Williams, who beat Paulson Adebo on a deep throw. This became a 20-point lead on Borregales’ short field goal after Gunner Olszewski lost a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and then yet another field goal as time expired made it 30-7 at the half.

After a scoreless third period, the Giants pulled out a trick play on the first play of the fourth quarter to get back into the game as Devin Singletary took a direct snap, faked a handoff to Dart and ran for a 22-yard score. Dart then extended the play and hit Slayton for the two-point conversion to make it 30-15.

However, the Giants were unable to pull any closer, as Borregales’ fourth field goal iced the win with under three minutes left.

Here are the takeaways...

- In his return from a concussion, Dart took two big hits in the first quarter, both of which sparked fury from Giants’ players. However, each one was deemed legal. Dart doesn’t seem to have learned the lesson about how important it is to protect himself following his two-game absence.

- Dart was efficient in the passing game, albeit mostly on short passes, as he didn’t surpass 100 passing yards until five minutes into the fourth quarter. The two-point conversion was a spectacular example of his athleticism and improvisational skills, though.

- New York’s other first-round pick, Abdul Carter, was conspicuous by his absence on the Patriots’ opening scoring drive, which was reported as being a coach’s decision. Carter was already benched at the start of another game this year after having missed a walkthrough. He didn’t enter the game until the second quarter, by which time New York was trailing 17-7.

- Carter was finally credited with his first full NFL sack, although this wasn’t exactly a highlight reel play as he stopped Maye for no gain as he looked to scramble on third-and-1 in the second quarter. The rookie did generate some pressure as usual, but this wasn’t exactly a breakout moment for him, as he only had two other tackles.

- New York had a chance to pull within a score in the middle of the second quarter, but a bizarre botched field goal attempt kept New England ahead by 10 and gave them good field position to set up their next score. On the play, kicker Younghoe Koo pulled up short of the ball as he inexplicably kicked the turf instead. Holder Jamie Gillan was then swallowed up by the Patriots’ defense for a huge loss. With the punt return and lost fumble, it was not a good day for Big Blue’s special teams unit.

- Tight end Theo Johnson had a rough first half with penalties on back-to-back plays and just one short catch, as he was unsuccessfully targeted three times. On one of these, he had a potential touchdown pass go through his hands. Johnson had a nice twisting catch down the field in the third quarter, but his inconsistency continues to be a source of frustration.

Game MVP – Patriots QB Drake Maye

Maye entered the game as the NFL’s leader in completion percentage, and he raised that with another efficient performance that saw him end up with 282 passing yards and two scores. Maye, who has thrown for over 200 passing yards in all 13 games, is a viable MVP candidate after leading New England to a 10th straight win.

Hightlights

What's next

The Giants are now on their bye week, with their next game at home against the Washington Commanders at 1 p.m. ET on Dec. 14th.