Giants Offense Sputters as New York Fall to the Patriots, 35-14

New York kept it surprisingly close for three quarters before Patriots ran away with the game in the fourth quarter.

Despite putting up a solid fight keeping the game within one score with under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, things fell apart for the New York Giants, who lost a heartbreaker to the New England Patriots 35-14 at Gillette Stadium.

The backbreaker for the Giants, who at one point had fought back from a 14-0 deficit to tie the game on edge rusher Markus Golden’s 42-yard scoop and score of a Tom Brady fumble caused by a Lorenzo Carter strip-sack, came early in the fourth quarter.

Rookie running back Jon Hilliman, who got the start with Saquon Barkley and Wayne Gallman both sidelined by injury, was hit by Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins and lost the handle. Kyle Van Noy then proceeded to scoop the loose ball up and return it 22 yards for a touchdown that made it 28-14 New England.

Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, who was missing his top running back, receiver and tight end, had his worst game as a pro going 15-of-31 for 161 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions against the league’s number one pass defense. 

The Giants severely depleted offense, missing 64.9% of their net yards without their four-main skill players, managed to net 213 yards of total offense and seven points, those coming on Golden Tate’s 64-yard catch and run on a pass from Jones in the second quarter.

Patriots cornerback Stephen Gilmore haunted Jones all night with three-big pass bat downs, one of which led to the game’s first interception. He also collected an interception of his own to end the momentum on the Giants opening drive of the second half.

The Patriots entered the night allowing an impressive eight third-down conversions on the year, and kept up this trend, allowing the Giants to convert 20% of their third-down attempts. 

All was not a total disaster for the Giants, as their defense put up a good fight before ultimately wearing down. The Giants pass rush recorded three sacks, including a strip-sack of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady by edge rusher Lorenzo Carter. 

That loose ball, one of four turnovers by the Giants defense, was scooped up and returned 42 yards by edge rusher Markus Golden for the Giants’ only other score of the game.

Brady didn’t have one of his sharpest games, finishing 31-of-41 for 334 yards with two fumbles, and one interception, but he did record two rushing touchdowns in a game for the first time since 2011. 

Brady’s passing yardage also topped the 300 plus yards passing mark for the 91st time in his career.

The Giants (2-4) had entered Thursday’s game as a 16.5 point underdog in their first meeting with New England since their 27-26 loss to New England in 2015.  

 The Brady-Jones duel featured two quarterbacks who were separated by 19 years, 297 days in age, making this the second-largest quarterback age differential since Sam Darnold (19 years, 306 days) faced off against Brady last year.

The Patriots won their 16th consecutive game at Foxborough on Thursday night. Head coach Bill Belichick now has a 12-0 record at Gillette Stadium against rookie quarterbacks, while Giants head coach Pat Shurmur’s career record with the Giants dropped to 7-15 and his overall record against teams that were .500 or better dropping to 3-12.  

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