Patriots pull away from Giants in 35-14 slopfest

FOXBORO — In less than two quarters, Thursday night at Gillette Stadium turned from a football game into a fight for survival.

By the end, wearing old scars from past series battles, the Patriots limped off victorious and with room to spare.

The Pats pulled away from the Giants 35-14 in another back-and-forth chapter that deserves to be filed far away from their Super Bowl classics in the annals in NFL history. The two teams combined for SIX turnovers, multiple special teams gaffes and several injuries. Only the “Boogeymen” proved scarier than the walking wounded and consistently sloppy play.

The Patriots’ linebackers, AKA the self-dubbed “Boogeymen,” put New York away when Jamie Collins forced a fumble and Kyle Van Noy scooped it for a 22-yard touchdown return midway through the fourth quarter. Van Noy’s score doubled the Pats’ lead at 28-14 after a tense, scoreless third quarter that included a 40-yard missed field goal from kicker Mike Nugent. It was the linebackers’ second touchdown of the night. They also had a pick.

Tom Brady’s 1-yard rushing touchdown on a quarterback sneak with less than four minutes remaining iced the game for good. Surrounded by a dwindling cast of weapons, Brady completed 31 of 41 passes for 334 yards and one pick.

Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones threw three interceptions and one touchdown, a long bomb in the second quarter. Otherwise, the Patriots defense again proved suffocating.

New York (2-4) totaled 213 yards and turned the ball over in every quarter. The Giants hung around, though, thanks to a game-tying defensive touchdown in the second quarter. That and a slew of Pats injuries.

Safety Patrick Chung left the game for good after suffering a chest injury on the first defensive series. Tight end Matt LaCosse was in and out of the medical tent due to a bad knee. Josh Gordon twisted his left knee late in the second quarter and was down for several moments.

Devin McCourty missed the opening drive of the second half to receive medical attention to his lower back. Dont’a Hightower also visited the medical tent with a shoulder injury. Cornerback J.C. Jackson and fullback Jakob Johnson both hurt their knees.

On their opening drive, the Pats stubbed their toe with a turnover on downs, then the teams traded punts and Brady and Jones swapped terrible picks. Two series later, Patriots running back Brandon Bolden drove Giants linebacker Nate Stupar back into a punt, causing the ball to soar skyward and then settle into the arms of Chase Winovich. The rookie linebacker returned it for the game’s first touchdown at 1:48 left in the quarter.

Another Jones pick midway through the second quarter gifted the Patriots outstanding field position at the New York 20, from which point they marched and scored on a 1-yard Bolden run. Jones immediately answered with his 64-yard touchdown strike to Tate that Pats cornerback Jonathan Jones got a hand on.

The next football to slip through Patriot hands tied the game. Brady was stripped sacked by Giants linebacker Lorenzo Carter, who had beat tight end Ryan Izzo off the edge and set up a 44-yard return by Markus Golden. While attempting to wrap Golden up inside his 10-yard line, Gordon turned into a pretzel and did not return.

Down to three receivers in total, the Pats rolled with Edelman and undrafted rookies Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski out wide for much of their next possession. Crafty play-calling shaped their longest drive of the night, a steady, 11-play push that ended with Brady’s first scoring sneak of the night for a 21-14 lead heading into the half.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2p7wgHU