The New England Patriots are struggling to come away with victories this season, but they have a chance of getting back in the win column against another putrid team in the New York Giants.
Many might view this as the “Caleb Williams Bowl,” as the losing team will likely be in a prime position to select the first quarterback on the 2024 NFL draft board.
If the Patriots want to get a win, they’ll need some things to go their way. Let’s get into this week’s keys to victory against the Giants.
1
Stop Saquon
Saquon Barkley is this week’s x-factor player for the Giants, and he could have a monster game against a deflated Patriots team. However, with fresh legs off the bye week, the Patriots might have a good chance at winning the game, if they stop the Giants’ star running back.
Barkley is a focal point for the Giants’ offense regardless, but since Daniel Jones has gone down with an injury, he has become THE offense. The Patriots will need to show some fight against a truly tough player to stop.
New England has had issues for the past few years of stopping the run with their interior line, forcing them to utilize larger mike linebackers who specialize in blowing up blocks to assist. With the emergence of Christian Barmore, the Patriots have an improved front that has allowed Jahlani Tavai and Ja’Whaun Bentley to play a more natural linebacker role.
2
Run the Ball
Feed Zeke, Feed Mondre, Feed Hasty. This game should be a running back feast for the Patriots.
It only makes sense for them to challenge a light Giants’ defensive front without Dexter Lawrence on the field. Ezekiel Elliott, Rhamondre Stevenson and JaMycal Hasty—the Patriots have too many talented backs to not run the ball effectively.
The offensive line has struggled mightily all season, but it has looked better over the past few weeks. It is likely the Patriots will be without Trent Brown, which would mean offensive lineman Conor McDermott, who was added to the 53-man roster on Saturday, will get the nod at left tackle.
If the Patriots want a real chance at winning this game, they’ll need to get the offensive line comfortable early by running heavily. With the Patriots starting QB job likely in Mac Jones’ hands, he will have a short leash. Bailey Zappe isn’t much better, and the Patriots will likely run a ton to keep them out of the spotlight.
3
Don't turn the ball over
This one feels obvious, but we have to keep saying it with this team. The Patriots are playing an offense as bad as they are, but if they hand that bad offense more chances to score, they might actually start looking good against the banged-up defense in New England.
If they can keep the ball on their side, this Patriots team should be good enough to win a tight game. But if Mac Jones continues to struggle, things could get ugly real fast.
The Patriots have been polar opposites of who they usually are on the field with the team sitting near the bottom of the league in turnover differential (30th-ranked). They have struggled to create turnovers with just 10 total, while giving the ball to their opponents 16 times.
This Patriots team will only win games if they keep it clean, as they lack the firepower to come from behind or minimize damage from costly mistakes.
