The New York Giants will face the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots on national television Thursday night in Foxborough.
Here are six things to know about the game.
The series…
The Giants and Patriots have met 29 times in the preseason but this will be only the 11th regular-season meeting between the two teams. The Patriots lead the series, 6-4. The Giants are 1-4 at home and 3-2 on the road. That does not count the Giants’ two Super Bowl victories over the Patriots in Arizona and Indianapolis.
The first meeting was on Oct. 18, 1970. The Giants beat the Boston Patriots, 16-0, at Harvard Stadium.
New England has won five of the past six meetings in the regular season. Bill Belichick is 3-3 lifetime against the Giants.
Last Meeting: Nov. 15, 2015. The Patriots beat the Giants, 27-26, at MetLife Stadium.
Last Meeting in Foxborough: Nov. 6, 2011. The Giants beat the Patriots, 24-20.
The injury bug has returned for the Giants
Throughout the decade, the Giants have been a club that has experienced an unusually high number of injuries. The past few years, that trend has subsided a bit, but now it appears to be back.
They have 11 players on injured reserve including two starting linebackers (Kareem Martin, Ryan Connelly), wide receivers Russell Shepard and Corey Coleman, cornerback Sam Beal and rookie offensive tackle George Asafo-Adjei.
They are also dealing with several other key injuries. Star running back Saquon Barkley has missed two games with a high ankle sprain and could return versus the Pats. Defensive captain Alec Ogletree (hamstring) could miss his third straight game. Running back Wane Gallman and wide receiver Sterling Shepard are both in the concussion protocol and tight end Evan Engram has a knee issue.
The Patriots defense has been historic
New England has given up just 34 points through five games, which is the 5th- fewest through five games since 1970 merger (6.8 points per game).
The Patriots lead the NFL in fewest yards per game allowed (238.4) and first downs allowed per game (13.2). They are killing it on third downs allowing opponents to convert just 12.7% of the time.
“Safety Devin McCourty’s four interceptions lead the NFL and he became the first player in franchise history with an interception in each of his team’s first four games of a season. Rookie defensive lineman Chase Winowich aims for his third game in a row with a sack and leads all rookies in sacks (four) through Week 5.” – NFL.com
The Giants defense is a sieve
Yes, we know injuries are an issue but so is talent and scheme. The Giants are allowing opponents 6.5 yards per play and 409 yards per game this season which is good enough for 30th in total defense in the NFL.
The Giants have allowed the most passing plays over 20 yards (24) and the most over 40 yards (7). Of the 14 touchdowns they’ve allowed, 10 have been through the air.
The good news? The Giants are 12th in sacks this season (13), a vast improvement after finishing 30th in the league last year.
OLB Jamie Collins is back in a big way
Collins was drafted in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft out of Southern Mississippi and soon became a staple on the Patriots defense, racking up 138 tackles in 2014 and was voted to the Pro Bowl. He was a member of their Super Bowl XLIX championship team.
But the Patriots aren’t the Patriots for nothing. They traded Collins to Cleveland at the trade deadline in 2016 for a third round draft pick rather than lose him in free agency and possibly get nothing in return.
Collins spent several seasons toiling in Cleveland, but he’s back with the Patriots as rotational player and is leading the team in tackles (26), sacks (4.5), QB hits (7) and is second in interceptions with three. In Collins’ first stint in New England he wore no. 91. He is now No. 58, so yes, it’s the same Jamie Collins from a few years ago.
Brady and Belichick keep chugging on
This is the fourth time the Pats have started a season 5-0 under Bill Belichick (2004, 2007, 2015). Since he took over the Patriots in 2000, Belichick has amassed a record of 230-79, made the Super Bowl nine times, winning six, and won 10 or more games in 17 of his 19 seasons at the helm. They have appeared in the last eight AFC Championship Games and has represented the AFC in four the last five Super Bowls.
Tom Brady, 42, passed for 348 yards and three touchdowns versus one INT for a 106.1 rating last week against Washington. He surpassed Hall of Famer Brett Favre (71,838) for the third-most career passing yards in NFL history and needs 18 passing yards to surpass Peyton Manning (71,940) for second place.
Against the Giants, Brady is aiming for his fourth game in a row at home with 250-plus pass yards, 2-plus TD passes and a 100-plus rating. Brady had 334 pass yards, 2 TD passes and a 92.8 rating in the last meeting against the Giants.
