iStock_000013177589_Full.jpg

FOOTBALL

Daniel Jones, New York Look To Bounce Back As They Head To Foxborough To Take On Tom Brady, New England

When you think of the New York Giants taking on New England likely two players come to come mind Eli Manning and Tom Brady.

Eli Manning beat Tom Brady twice in the Super Bowl and has two rings to prove it but that isn’t who the veteran quarterback who is in his twentieth season in league will be facing on Thursday night. Instead he will be facing the sixth pick in the first round of this years NFL Draft Daniel Jones who doesn’t have near as much experience facing Tom Brady like Eli Manning.

With that in mind will the veteran quarterback who is in his twentieth season in the league Tom Brady out play the rookie Daniel Jones on Thursday night?

New York who is a member of the NFC East comes into the game with a record of 2-3 while New England who is a member of the AFC East comes into the game with a record of 5-0. “according to https://www.nfl.com/standings

As for the New York Giants previous game, They lost at home to Minnesota on Sunday.

The Giants were dominated statistically in a three-score loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, but coach Pat Shurmur was already optimistically looking ahead when he spoke to the media just minutes after walking off the MetLife Stadium field. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/missed-opportunities-tell-the-story-of-giants-loss-to-vikings

The Vikings’ 211 rushing yards matched the Giants’ total yardage. Minnesota gained 490 yards. Kirk Cousins completed 81.5% of his passes (22 of 27) for 302 yards, including touchdowns of 15 and nine yards to Adam Thielen – who had seven receptions for 130 yards. Dalvin Cook rushed for 132 yards on 21 carries and the Vikings averaged 6.2 yards a run. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/missed-opportunities-tell-the-story-of-giants-loss-to-vikings

The Giants’ average was 3.2 and they totaled only 64 yards on the ground. They played again without Saquon Barkley (ankle) and his replacement, Wayne Gallman, lasted just two attempts (for 14 yards) before leaving with a concussion. That left rookie free agent Jon Hilliman (20 yards on nine carries) and converted fullback Eli Penny (15 yards on three attempts) as the team’s only healthy runners.”according to https://www.giants.com/news/missed-opportunities-tell-the-story-of-giants-loss-to-vikings

The Giants failed to capitalize in a different way late in the second quarter, when Jabrill Peppers forced a Cook fumble that was recovered at the Giants’ one-yard line by Tuzar Skipper. But on the next play, Hilliman was smothered by linebacker Anthony Barr in the end zone for a safety that extended the Vikings lead to 15-7 then became 18-7 at halftime.

“It was a run play that, in hindsight, we didn’t execute it well enough and we gave up a safety,” Shurmur said. “That’s two points, you move on. That’s that. We got beat by what, what did we get beat by – 18? That was a bad play on our part, we have to clean it up and move on.” “according to https://www.giants.com/news/missed-opportunities-tell-the-story-of-giants-loss-to-vikings

“It’s tough, but me, myself, you just have to not make a bad play worse,” Hilliman said. “That’s what I was thinking. So, hold on to the ball, take your lumps. I’d rather give up two than six. That’s just the most important thing.” “according to https://www.giants.com/news/missed-opportunities-tell-the-story-of-giants-loss-to-vikings

Another example of Giants frustration: In the third quarter, Shurmur took Aldrick Rosas’ 28-yard field goal off the board after Linval Joseph’s unnecessary roughness penalty gave them a first down at the Vikings’ five. But on first down, Danielle Hunter sacked Jones for a 10-yard loss. Center Jon Halapio was then penalized for being an illegal man downfield. Evan Engram picked up six yards on a reception, but Rosas had to kick another field goal – from 32 yards. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/missed-opportunities-tell-the-story-of-giants-loss-to-vikings

“There were plays that could have been made,” Engram said. “There were a lot of 50-50 balls that we have to make. We make those plays, then it's a different ballgame. So, there's nothing to really get discouraged about. We're fine.” “according to https://www.giants.com/news/missed-opportunities-tell-the-story-of-giants-loss-to-vikings

Defensively, the Giants had trouble corralling Cook and Thielen and though they sacked Cousins three times, only five of his passes hit the ground. What was most frustrating is that the defense often made a bad situation worse. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/missed-opportunities-tell-the-story-of-giants-loss-to-vikings

“We were just missing tackles and had bad eyes,” Peppers said. “I feel as though we didn’t play as clean of a game as we should have. But we are going to get it corrected. It’s a short turnaround, watch this tape and get ready for the Patriots. … We have to tackle better, get in our run-fits and stop shooting ourselves in the foot. That’s really what it all comes down to.” “according to https://www.giants.com/news/missed-opportunities-tell-the-story-of-giants-loss-to-vikings

Except for a span of 2:43, the Giants trained by double digits the entire second half. Shurmur tried to generate momentum by going for it on fourth down three times. The first time, from Minnesota’s three-yard line, Jones was sacked for a nine-yard loss by Hunter. On No. 2, Jones threw a pass to Shepard that fell incomplete. Shurmur challenged, hoping to get a pass interference call on Mike Hughes, but the play was upheld. Finally, with 3:20 to go, Jones’ pass for Golden Tate was intercepted by Barr.”according to https://www.giants.com/news/missed-opportunities-tell-the-story-of-giants-loss-to-vikings

Jones completed 21 of 38 passes for 182 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown to fellow rookie Darius Slayton. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/missed-opportunities-tell-the-story-of-giants-loss-to-vikings

“Not good enough,” Jones said of both his performance and the offense’s. “I thought the plan was good going in, I thought we created a lot of opportunities for ourselves to make plays and we didn’t make them. You’re not going to win if you can’t convert those opportunities, you can’t make plays. I have to be better.” “according to https://www.giants.com/news/missed-opportunities-tell-the-story-of-giants-loss-to-vikings

Unlike the New York Giants New England won their previous and remains undefeated after dominating the New York Giants NFC East rival Washington on Sunday.

The Patriots once again followed their defense’s lead, riding out an inconsistent start before finding their ground game and an offensive stride in the second half to help them pull away and secure their fifth victory of the season. “according to https://www.patriots.com/news/game-observations-patriots-find-second-half-stride-dispatch-redskins-33-7

The defense was every bit as dominant as we’ve come to expect this season despite giving up a flashy long touchdown early in the game. After that they returned to their shutdown ways, including forcing two turnovers to add to their league lead.”according to https://www.patriots.com/news/game-observations-patriots-find-second-half-stride-dispatch-redskins-33-7

What was a first-half slog turned into a second-half romp, including nice runs by Sony Michel, the first touchdown of the season by a tight end and some feel-good moments that swept the early-game struggles under the rug. “according to https://www.patriots.com/news/game-observations-patriots-find-second-half-stride-dispatch-redskins-33-7

They were almost tested for a second-straight week, but the Patriots did what they usually do - stay the course, adjust and win. That will buy them time and even more leeway to figure their issues out, because there are still issues on the offensive side of the ball. “according to https://www.patriots.com/news/game-observations-patriots-find-second-half-stride-dispatch-redskins-33-7

Here’s everything else that stood out from a solid Patriots road win as the train keeps rolling. “according to https://www.patriots.com/news/game-observations-patriots-find-second-half-stride-dispatch-redskins-33-7

-Starting the game out with a defensive timeout was a first and Belichick looked agitated as the Patriots scrambled to change personnel and just avoided a 12-men penalty. It was a strange miscue out of the gate but wasn’t a harbinger of things to come.”according to https://www.patriots.com/news/game-observations-patriots-find-second-half-stride-dispatch-redskins-33-7

-The 65-yard TD rush by Steven Sims was one of the only times this season the Patriots defense has gotten gashed and looked really bad. There was a tough missed tackle by Devin McCourty but it looked like Kyle Van Noy was held briefly on the edge as well. It was just the second touchdown of the season allowed for the defense and little more than a speed bump in this game.”according to https://www.patriots.com/news/game-observations-patriots-find-second-half-stride-dispatch-redskins-33-7

-The Patriots made a quick response to being behind for the first time this season, with a well-paced drive sparked by a nice catch by Ryan Izzo and another up the seam by Matt LaCosse. The team hasn’t been able to run many two-tight-end sets this season but it would appear LaCosse is starting to get healthy and that could open some things up. Izzo’s second-half touchdown was a nice development for him as he’s been doing a lot of the dirty work through the early part of the season.

-The Redskins had too much success rushing three defenders, getting two sacks on Brady’s first 13 drop backs. The Pats didn’t seem interested in running the ball early, instead they had a focus on no-huddle and quick throws. It was a strange tactic, to ignore running the ball against the29th-ranked run defense in the NFL. As a result, the offense was one-dimensional and struggled to find a rhythm until the second half when they started running the ball.”according to https://www.patriots.com/news/game-observations-patriots-find-second-half-stride-dispatch-redskins-33-7

-The Patriots first fourth-down attempt of the season was snuffed out as they tried a direct snap to James White. It’s a far departure from the powerful running game of last season and, with no James Develin and just one rushing yard in the first quarter, the Pats went with trickery instead of physicality, a tradeoff we don’t see often in New England.”according to https://www.patriots.com/news/game-observations-patriots-find-second-half-stride-dispatch-redskins-33-7

-Dont’a Hightower blew up two-straight plays after the failed fourth-down attempt. After getting a week off with a shoulder injury, Hightower was all over the field, with four tackles-for-loss to go with a sack-and-a-half and two QB hits.”according to https://www.patriots.com/news/game-observations-patriots-find-second-half-stride-dispatch-redskins-33-7

-Jake Bailey handled the kickoffs with no problem, sending all into the end zone, though some of his punts were a bit sporadic. Mike Nugent missed his first kick as a Patriot, an extra point, but made the second, a 37-yarder, and a 23-yarder just before halftime to give the Pats a five-point lead. He’d add two more issue-free extra points in the second half, though a third hit off the upright and through. All things considered it was a decent debut. We’ll see what happens if/when the Pats need a long field goal in a tight must-win game though.

-The offense continued to look sporadic in the first half, with a focus on running the no huddle. Brady set a personal high with 31 passing attempts in the first half. What’s clear is that Gordon-Edelman-White continue to be the only weapons in the passing game capable of making plays and everyone else is window dressing. The spread offense played with tempo just doesn’t seem to have the same effect as it did back when we called it “The Scalpel”. “according to https://www.patriots.com/news/game-observations-patriots-find-second-half-stride-dispatch-redskins-33-7

-Jonathan Jones forced a fumble and Jamie Collins recovered it, as the defense once again tried to spark things but a blitz forced a bad throw by Brady that was intercepted. The pass protection had been pretty good through the first quarter of the season, but seemed to regress this week in Washington, allowing three sacks and seven QB hits in the first half. They’d add another sack and two more QB hits in the second half as the running game took some heat off.”according to https://www.patriots.com/news/game-observations-patriots-find-second-half-stride-dispatch-redskins-33-7

-Even after that failure, Jason McCourty gave the Pats their second takeaway just before halftime, but again the offense could not take advantage and had to settle for a field goal. This kind of bad situational football continues to be surprising and must be as frustrating for the team as it is for the fans. “according to https://www.patriots.com/news/game-observations-patriots-find-second-half-stride-dispatch-redskins-33-7

-The Pats had a renewed focus on running the ball to start the second half, but it was still a grind aside from one 11-yard gain by Sony Michel. A 21-yard catch on third down by James White, followed by a 29-yard touchdown catch by Brandon Bolden were the two big plays that helped extend the lead to 19-7 and they never looked back. “according to https://www.patriots.com/news/game-observations-patriots-find-second-half-stride-dispatch-redskins-33-7

-The running game started to really produce on the second drive of the second half, with Michel busting off a 25-yard run, then finishing things off with a tough 14-yard scamper into the end zone. Maybe one drive can turn a season around, as these kinds of tough runs that have been mostly absent through four games. Still, Washington seemed like they faded quickly as the lead grew and had less and less interest in playing hard.”according to https://www.patriots.com/news/game-observations-patriots-find-second-half-stride-dispatch-redskins-33-7

-Julian Edelman looked to be moving better this week than he was last week against the Bills, but was still noticeably favoring his ribs at times. Edelman finished with an Edelman-like eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. If he’s healthy and his usual self, the Pats offense will have a chance against anyone, even despite their lack of overall weaponry. Jules is that good.”according to https://www.patriots.com/news/game-observations-patriots-find-second-half-stride-dispatch-redskins-33-7

-James White was the offensive MVP though, finishing with six catches for 46 yards, and six carries for 26 yards. White is the only healthy difference maker on the offense right now and they must continue to lean on him.”according to https://www.patriots.com/news/game-observations-patriots-find-second-half-stride-dispatch-redskins-33-7

Kick-Off is set for 8:20pm from Gillette Stadium. The game will be televised on Fox.