Instant Observations Following Patriots' 35-14 Win over Giants
The New England Patriots' record remains unblemished; New England won their Thursday night battle against the New York Giants by a score of 35-14.
Here are some observations following the Patriots' sixth win in as many games.
Offensive line is the No. 1 weakness of the 2019 Patriots
Another game, and another poor outing for the Patriots' offensive line. On a night when Sony Michel got 15+ carries, he averaged just 3.9 yards per carry on 22 carries, because, well, he had no where to run. The lack of run blocking on short-yardage situations led to a couple of failed 4th down attempts and two rushing touchdowns by Brady in the redzone.
Screen passes and short dump offs were Tom Brady's go-to's on a night when the Giants defensive line won the trench battle. The Patriots QB was sacked three times, which came down to complete incompetence by his blockers.
Luckily, the defense and special teams were able to put enough points on the board to keep New England undefeated through six weeks of the regular season. The offensive line woes will be an issue when the Patriots play tougher opponents down the stretch. It's tough to know if there is a way they can fix the problems with the personnel on their roster.
Jakobi Meyers stepped up after Josh Gordon's departure
In a game where Josh Gordon exited in the first half because of a leg injury, it was undrafted rookie Jakobi Meyers who flourished in the veteran's absence.
Meyers caught 4-of-4 passes for 54 yards. His ability to get open and catch passes in traffic and awkwardly showed how far the UDFA has come since the summer. His performance vs. the Giants will surely be noted by the Patriots coaching staff and will likely earn his more meaningful reps going forward. Gordon's injury will likely determine Meyers' increase in playing time, though he should still see an uptick in snaps even if Gordon doesn't miss time in the future.
Special teams/defense got the win again
On a night when the offensive struggled again, it was the defense and special teams units that helped them win their 6th-straight game. The defense forced four turnovers (three interceptions and one forced fumble) and the punt block team managed to reel in a touchdown, courtesy of a return by rookie Chase Winovich, who notched the first touchdown of his career.
This Patriots team will go as far as the defense takes them. It's evident that any problems New England faces this season have to do with their offense, so it will be crucial that their defense keeps the opposing offense out of the endzone as little as possible going forward if they want to continue winning games.
Injuries are starting to pile up on both sides of the ball
New England is already without Isaiah Wynn, James Develin and N'Keal Harry for a big chunk of the season. Center David Andrews is out for the entire season. Heading into the Week 6 game, Rex Burkhead and Phillip Dorsett were both rules out for the game because of injuries.
During the win over New York, Josh Gordon, Patrick Chung, Dont’a Hightower, Matt LaCosse, JC Jackson and Jakob Johnson also suffered injuries, all of which the severities are unknown at this time. One would think that at least one or two of those players suffered injuries that will force them to miss time going forward, which will add on to the increasing list of injured Patriots.
The NFL teams that make it the farthest in the postseason are typically the ones that stay the healthiest. Through six weeks, New England isn't a healthy team. Though they may be able to scrape out wins in October despite a banged up roster, when November comes and this squad has to face the Ravens, Eagles, and Cowboys, they may begin to add some losses to their record.
