Here are the winners and losers from the New England Patriots’ 35-14 win over the New York Giants on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium in Week 6.
Winner: Stephon Gilmore, CB
Gilmore generated the first interception by tipping a Daniel Jones pass into the air for linebacker John Simon to catch. Gilmore later managed an interception of his own with a toe-tapping effort after fooling Jones in a disguised coverage. On the final play of the third quarter, Gilmore logged a breakup on a target for Darius Slayton, which might have converted the third-and-8 had it been a catch. Gilmore also dropped another would-be interception.
It was an impressive night for the cornerback, who has allowed a higher volume of completions than is typical for him in 2019. Those performances may have been a product of the Patriots’ scheme, where they were willing to allow shorter plays in order to prevent the big play. But on Thursday, Gilmore played his most complete game of the season.
Loser: Sony Michel, RB
He contributed in the passing game, not only as a receiver but also as a blocker. But he also had a drop on a target where he was wide-open in the first half. Between the tackles, he was inefficient with 22 carries for 86 yards — saved largely by a 26-yard carry on the second-to-last play of the game.
Worst of all, he seems to have lost his goal-line carries. The Patriots turned running back Brandon Bolden and quarterback Tom Brady (QB sneaks) on short-yardage situations. As a result, Bolden had a rushing touchdown. Brady had two. Michel had none.
Winner: Chase Winovich, LB
The rookie linebacker scored a touchdown on a blocked punt in the first half, which put the Patriots on the scoreboard. It was the team’s second special teams touchdown on the season.
But I’ve got to ask: Why did Winovich throw the ball into the stands? That seems like a ball he’d like to keep. But I guess if you have zombie blood running through your veins, keepsakes don’t matter.
Loser: JonATHAN Jones, CB
He allowed the first passing touchdown scored on the Patriots defense in 2019. It’s hard to single out the slot cornerback, who was otherwise solid on the game. Jones laid out to make a diving breakup but couldn’t swat away the ball, which bounced into the hands of Golden Tate, who ran to the end zone for a 64-yard touchdown.
Had Jones stayed on his feet, he might have at least made the tackle and lived to see another down on the series.
Winner: Kyle Van Noy, LB
It was another ridiculously productive night for the Boogeymen (aka the Patriots linebackers). Van Noy scooped and scored on Jamie Collins’ forced fumble midway through the final quarter. But that summary doesn’t do justice to the sheer athleticism shown on the play. Van Noy made a diving effort at the end zone, which was originally ruled short but was eventually reversed and called a touchdown. Here’s a look.
Van Noy finished with one tackle, one sack, one recovered football and one touchdown.
Loser: Tom Brady, QB
The quarterback looked out of sync with his receivers, and strangely, had a few miscommunications with receiver Julian Edelman. Brady misfired to a wide-open Edelman down the middle of the field, and the result was an interception.
Brady also fumbled the ball, which the Giants recovered for a touchdown. Tight end Ryan Izzo allowed the strip-sack, so the blame doesn’t fall solely (or even largely) on Brady. But the quarterback didn’t sense the pressure and held on to the ball too long.
Oddly enough, Brady seemed to hit his stride when receiver Josh Gordon left the game with an injury. That’s when the quarterback went on a tear by completing quick passes to Edelman, receiver Jakobi Meyers and running back James White.
The final stat line wasn’t exactly a thing of beauty: 31 of 41 for 334 yards and one interception, along with one fumble and two rushing touchdowns. That said, he did drop this absolute dime (below) to Edelman. So let’s be clear: He wasn’t a mess. He just wasn’t Superman.
Winner: Medical Tent
If the medical tent is a winner, that means the Patriots were losers. New England sent a handful of star players into the tent for attention.
