The New England Patriots advanced to 11-2 after an impressive first half led them to a 33-15 win over the now 2-11 New York Giants. While the second half wasn’t perfect, the first half was about as close as you can get. After an early field goal, a 94-yard punt return from Marcus Jones and a goal line fade to Kayshon Boutte extended the first quarter lead to 17. A perfectly placed ball to Kyle Williams added seven, and a Gunner Olszewski fumble on a kick return led the Patriots to make their second field goal of the half. A 67-yard drive added three more points to make the halftime score a dominant 30-7. The Giants would outscore New England 8-3 in an uneventful second half that was played as if both teams were simply waiting for the game to end.
Diving deeper into individual performances, Drake Maye’s stellar passing day earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors, as he finished with 282 yards and two touchdowns on 24/31 passes. TreVeyon Henderson finally found consistency against the worst run defense in the league. While he’s had some electric plays this year, consistency is key in becoming a full-time starter and every down back. His eleven carries totaled 67 yards (6.1 YPC), but even when taking away his long of 26, he still managed 41 yards on his ten touches for a respectable 4.1 a carry. Comparatively, taking away his two long touchdown runs from his Tampa Bay stat line would have had him finish with 12 carries for 23 yards, or 1.9 a carry. Hopefully this performance is more than just a flash in the pan for Henderson.
Despite Henderson’s performance, he was still out carried by Rhamondre Stevenson, who’s 12 carries went for 40 yards, or 3.3 per attempt. While he offers a power complement to Henderson, he isn’t good enough or reliable enough to be a bell cow back, which is exactly what Mike Vrabel wants him to be. He’s on pace to make $7.6, $9.6 and $11.6 million over the next three seasons, and there isn’t a natural out from his contract anytime soon. Come the offseason, New England may have to trade picks away to a team in order to take on his contract, much like how the Miami Dolphins did with Aqib Talib back in 2019.
Hunter Henry was the team’s most productive pass catcher for the second straight week, as the clear priority for the team was running the football: Henderson, Stevenson, and Maye combined for 39 attempts.
The offensive line holding up was also nice to see. Without Will Campbell and Jared Wilson for the first time, Vederian Lowe and Ben Brown manned the left side of the line. The brand-new unit allowed a respectable three sacks against a team that features Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence, and No. 3 pick Abdul Carter. Brown graded out to be PFF’s ninth best Patriot on the night, while Lowe didn’t allow a pressure in his 13 snaps lined up against Burns, who has 13 sacks this year.
Defensively, the unit didn’t have much to do, but no doubt Kaden Elliss came to play, laying out Jaxson Dart and forcing the fumble on a kickoff. His 89.9 PFF grade was a career high, and he’s been much better since Week 6. They were helped immensely by the long-term absences of Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo, but it doesn’t discount the suffocating performance. A pair of long touchdowns were frustrating, no doubt, but holding any team to 15 points is great work.
While special teams aren’t normally a point of emphasis, several former Patriots were involved in the Giants’ debacles in the game. Former special teams coordinator Cam Achord is on the staff, and the unit employs both Younghoe Koo and Olszewski. Koo spent eleven days on New England’s practice squad in 2019 after Stephen Gostkowski was placed on IR, but went on to spend several years with the Falcons, making the Pro Bowl in 2020. He missed the ball entirely on a botched field goal attempt that highlighted an embarrassing Giants display. While the game ended in only an 18-point win, it could have been far more.
The Patriots have the latest possible bye week, Week 14. It’s a much-needed opportunity for them to rest, as they’ll face a trio of division opponents and the AFC North leading Baltimore Ravens in the final four weeks. They’ll face the Bills out of the bye, followed by the Ravens, Jets and Dolphins. While they’ve already beaten three of those teams, going undefeated in the division is incredibly difficult, and losing at some point in the next month seems like a reasonable expectation.
The Ravens have everything to play for too, as they sit at 6-6 with two games against the Steelers still left, with only one squad likely to make the playoffs via winning the division.
The Patriots should feel confident about where they sit going into their bye. This week, keep your eyes peeled on Broncos vs. Raiders and Bills vs. Bengals, as both have key implications for where New England might stand in the playoffs. A Broncos loss would see New England on the top of the AFC, undisputed.