New York Giants Top New England Patriots 10-7
East Rutherford, N.J. - The New York Giants won their second straight game by defeating the New England Patriots in a 10-7 defensive duel in MetLife Stadium. It is the Giants’ first win against the Patriots since Super Bowl XLVI in February 2012.
Despite being outgained in total yards 283-220 and holding the ball for just 25 minutes, New York’s defense made up for the offensive struggles by forcing three turnovers, all of them via interception. The second set up the Giants’ only touchdown, while the third set up the decisive field goal. Meanwhile, New England’s last chance field goal sailed wide left as time expired.
Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito overcame a lackluster rushing attack and six sacks by completing 17 of 25 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown while submitting a 103.9 passer rating. His top target was fellow rookie Jalin Hyatt, who caught five passes for 109 yards, an average of 21.8 yards per catch. Ultimately, the offense overcame a lackluster performance from running back Saquon Barkley, who had only 46 rushing yards on 12 carries and one reception for six yards.
The Patriots used two quarterbacks in the game, Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe, in what has become a recurring theme in their games. Jones, who started the first half, looked like a shell of the hyped QB prospect he once was, completing just 12 of 21 passes for 89 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions, with an atrocious 27.8 passer rating.
Zappe could move the ball a bit more efficiently, but he didn’t fare much better, as he only completed nine of 14 passes for 54 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception with a poor passer rating of 42.0. Demario Douglas was New England’s leading receiver, with six catches for 49 yards.
Most of the Patriots’ offense came from the ground game, as Rhamondre Stevenson had 98 rushing yards and New England’s only touchdown on 21 carries. Former Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott also had 46 rushing yards on nine carries.
New York appeared to get off to a great start; on their first possession, a 14-yard run by Barkley and a 29-yard strike from DeVito to Hyatt moved the ball to the New England 26-yard line, leaving the Giants poised to score. Unfortunately, DeVito lost a fumble two plays later, and former Giant Jabrill Peppers recovered the ball for the Patriots.
From there, the game turned into the expected defensive struggle. Outside of the Giants fumble and three other drives, the first half consisted almost entirely of punts.
The Giants once again would have a great scoring opportunity when Deonte Banks intercepted a pass from Jones at the New York 43. Barkley followed with a 19-yard run to move the ball into Patriots territory, but the offense sputtered from there and punted the ball away.
Later in the second quarter, New England finally began to get a good drive going as they advanced from their 8-yard line to the New York 23-yard line. The drive featured a 15-yard run by Stevenson and 14-yard and 17-yard receptions by Douglas and DeVante Parker, respectively. However, Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke halted the drive by intercepting Jones and returned it to the Patriots’ 26-yard line to give his team an excellent scoring chance.
This time, the Giants took full advantage with a pair of third-down conversions. The first was a 12-yard pass to Hyatt on 3rd and 8, and the second was a 12-yard touchdown reception by Isaiah Hodgins on 3rd and 10. The 7-0 Giants lead would hold until halftime, as the next three drives ended in a Patriots punt, a Giants punt, and time expiring in the half.
Unfortunately, Giants kicker Randy Bullock would be penalized for booting the second-half kickoff out of bounds, giving the Patriots more favorable field positioning at their own 40.
This, along with Zappe replacing Jones under center, would finally get New England’s offense going. Zappe completed all six passes on an 11-play, 60-yard drive, while Stevenson rushed for 23 yards and finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run to tie the game.
The next three drives ended in punts before New York’s defense made another clutch play to set up their offense; Zappe threw his team’s third interception of the game to Xavier McKinney, who returned the ball 18 yards to the New England 32. The Giants could only move eight yards and could not pick up a first down, but Bullock still kicked a 42-yard field goal to give the Giants the lead back, 10-7.
New York’s defense forced a punt, but the offense could only run 2:16 off the clock before giving the ball back to the Patriots with 3:15 left in regulation. With one last chance, the Patriots moved 33 yards in 10 plays, which included a 5-yard reception by Juju Smith-Schuster on 4th and 4, before running the clock down to six seconds.
Patriots kicker Chad Ryland then trotted out onto the field, looking to kick a game-tying field goal to force overtime. However, he missed the 35-yard attempt wide left, sending the MetLife Stadium crowd into a wild celebration and giving the Giants their fourth win of the year.
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