The faces have mostly changed, but the New York Giants still remain a royal pain in the side of the Patriots.
New England escaped this time, pulling away in the fourth quarter to win 35-14 in a classic Thursday Night Football game that was classic for all the wrong reasons.
The Giants (2-4) were already down their top two running backs in Saquon Barkley and Wayne Gallman, as well as their starting tight end in Evan Engram and No. 2 wide receiver in Sterling Shepard, while the Patriots entered the game without receiver Phillip Dorsett.
New England’s sideline turned into a walking infirmary over the course of the blustery night at Gillette Stadium, losing Josh Gordon, Patrick Chung, Dont’a Hightower, Jakob Johnson and J.C Jackson at various stages of the game to injury.
On the Patriots forged, riding another stout defensive effort to improve to 6-0. They made Daniel Jones look like the rookie he is, picking him off three times and limiting him to 160 yards through the air -- 64 of which came on a single throw, a strike to Golden Tate which was the first passing touchdown allowed by New England this season.
Jones was just 15 for 31 passing, putting up a paltry 35.2 passer rating.
John Simon, Duron Harmon and Stephon Gilmore had the honors of intercepting Jones, bringing the team’s total to 14 on the season.
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Leading by a touchdown in the fourth quarter, Jamie Collins forced a Jonathan Hillman fumble which was scooped and scored by Kyle Van Noy to give the Patriots the breathing room they’d lacked. Tom Brady added his second rushing touchdown of the game on New England’s next offensive set, a 1-yard keeper, putting the game out of reach for New York.
Brady was so-so throwing, amassing 334 yards (his 91st career game with more than 300 yards through the air) but didn’t throw a touchdown pass and was intercepted for the third week in a row.
In the absence of Dorsett and Gordon, Gunner Olszewski had the first two catches of his career, while Jakobi Meyers finished with a career-best four catches for 54 yards for New England.
The Patriots’ other two scores came via Brandon Bolden on a 1-yard run in the second quarter and a Chase Winovich return off a punt blocked by Bolden, the first touchdown of his young career.
New York briefly tied the game on a Markus Golden 42-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown, which came on New England’s first offensive series after Tate’s TD.
The Patriots are off until Oct. 21, when they travel to face the Giants' co-tenants at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the New York Jets on Monday Night Football.
