
FOXBOROUGH- The Patriots dominated the New York Giants from start to finish in an impressive 33-15 win on Monday Night Football.
It was a three phase win by the Patriots as the special teams, offense and defense all contributed to the win. Marcus Jones 94 yard punt return touchdown sparked the team and gave them an early 10-0. The Patriots did not look back from there in building a 30-7 halftime lead.
Here are seven points on the Patriots win over the Giants.
1. Jones sets the tone with a punt return: Marcus Jones set the tone with his 94 yard punt return midway through the first quarter. Jones took the ball, made two defenders miss and broke down the left sideline for his second punt return touchdown of the season. The return once again sparked the Patriots, just like it did in week four against the Panthers.
2. Maye’s Day: Drake Maye looked like an MVP candidate completing 24-of-31 passes for 282 yards, 2 touchdown passes and a passer rating of 126. He threw touchdown passes to Kayshon Boutte and Kyle Williams. The pass to Williams was an absolute rope down the left sideline. It was perfectly placed. After struggling against the Bengals at times last week, Maye returned to form last night.
3. Elliss brings the hammer: Christian Elliss’ thundering hit on quarterback Jaxson Dart along the Giants sideline was another play that brought the crowd to life. Dart must have gone about six feet across the Giants sideline before landing. To say that Elliss popped him would be an understatement. It was a big time play for a defense that continues to fly under the radar this season. Elliss later forced a fumble on special teams when he jacked up former Patriot Gunner Olszewski on a kick return, giving the Patriots the ball back. They ultimately settled on a field goal.
4. Borregalas with another strong outing: Borregalas connected on 4 of 5 field goal attempts and was 3 for 3 on extra points. He has settled in nicely as the team’s kicker and he once again proved last night that he is a reliable kicking option.
5. Backups, step up: Give Vedarian Lowe, Ben Brown and Cory Durden credit. All three played well in the absences of Will Campbell, Jared Wilson and Milton Williams. Lowe had some struggles with Brian Burns but overall, the Patriots depth guys stepped up and filled in admirably in a game that they needed to play well in for the team to win.
6. Kyle Williams with a big play: Williams only caught one pass for 33 yards but it was a touchdown and more importantly, it was a big play. The Patriots are starting to incorporate Williams more in the offense and it is showing up when they are in plus territory and taking shot plays. Having a deep threat on offense as a title contender is vitally important. The Patriots have that in Williams.
7. Three phase domination: The Patriots dominated this game in all three phases. The offense, defense and special teams all made big plays in the win. If the Patriots continue to get contributions from all three units, they will tough to beat regardless of who they are playing.