Instant analysis from Patriots’ 10-7 loss to Giants

Both sides met at MetLife Stadium with eight losses.

Only the New England Patriots would add to that column on Sunday, falling to the New York Giants by a score of 10-7 in a battle between 2023 pride and 2024 draft position.

A missed field goal by rookie kicker Chad Ryland kept the 1 p.m. ET kickoff from overtime.

Here’s an initial glance back before a long December arrives.

Post-bye starting quarterback still the same one as before The third benching of the season held different weight than the previous. It arrived in a 10-6 game with 1:52 remaining in Frankfurt, Germany. The bye week and an even split of first-team practice reps followed. No announcement from head coach Bill Belichick did. By Sunday, the mystery was over.

It was still Mac Jones starting at quarterback for the Patriots. It was still the same story as before. The embattled team captain completed 12-of-21 passes for 89 yards with two interceptions against the Giants before being benched once more.

The matinee opened with a three-and-out and a penalty for delay of game. The next drive also ended in a punt after a throw sailed behind his intended under route. To conclude the first quarter, Jones tried triple coverage and was picked off by toe-tapping rookie cornerback Deonte Banks deep down the sideline. And for as long as it took to build a 12-play, 69-yard drive before intermission, it only took an instant of unblocked pressure to collapse under another poor decision. Linebacker Bobby Okereke was there to return that poor decision 55 yards.

Zappe takes the second half to no avail With emergency quarterback Will Grier waived on the eve of the matchup, Bailey Zappe stood alone as the backup to the former No. 15 overall pick out of Alabama. He soon stood on the field.

Zappe took over to begin the second half. Keeping it simple with screens and runs, his first drive spanned 11 plays, 60 yards and ended in the end zone as New England tied things at 7-7.

The 2022 fourth-rounder from Houston Baptist and Western Kentucky stayed in to go 9-of-14 passing for 54 yards. Yet a telegraphed interception would be in the cards, too, for a team without an answer under center. It came on an over route by JuJu Smith-Schuster that safety Xavier McKinney was waiting for. Zappe went back to the veteran wide receiver to convert on fourth-and-4 with two minutes and two timeouts to go in a 10-7 game. It set up a 35-yard attempt that would have forced a fifth quarter. Laces out. Wide left. A 2-9 record.

Testing New York’s ground coverage No defense around the NFL allowed more touchdowns on the ground this fall than New York’s 17. Opponents checked in averaging 4.8 rushing yards per attempt and 135.1 rushing yards per game.

New England would look to sustain the trend against a front without doubtful reigning All-Pro Dexter Lawrence due to a hamstring injury. Consecutive handoffs and “12” personnel were how the afternoon got underway.

Rhamondre Stevenson handled 21 carries for 98 yards on Sunday, including longs of 13 and 15, to go with the offense’s lone touchdown. Alongside the lead running back, veteran Ezekiel Elliott chipped in nine carries for 46 yards with a long of 13. The duo combined to draw seven receptions.

After two games out, Brown rotates in for Patriots’ offensive line Trent Brown missed back-to-back games prior to the bye week because of knee and ankle injuries as well as personal reasons. The towering left tackle wouldn’t be missing in East Rutherford, but rotating back in by the 2:01 mark in the first quarter.

Conor McDermott, a three-time standard elevation and 53-man promotion , again started on the blindside for New England. Left guard Cole Strange, center David Andrews, right guard Sidy Sow and right tackle Mike Onwenu joined him. And after the offensive line conceded five sacks in a single half versus the Indianapolis Colts , the pass protection finished Sunday having conceded a pair.

Kayvon Thibodeaux and Jihad Ward registered takedowns for defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s Giants.

Eyes on Saquon Saquon Barkley entered Sunday averaging 22.5 touches and 101.6 scrimmage yards per appearance this season. The running back at the center of the New York’s offense would be at the center of New England’s defense also.

By the second play from scrimmage, Barkley had himself a pickup of 14 yards. By the start of the second quarter, the two-time Pro Bowler had broken loose for 19. But altogether, he turned a dozen carries into 46 rushing yards and corralled one pass.

The Patriots opened in the nickel and held the home team to 4-for-13 on third down.

Sacked six times by New England, DeVito completes 17-of-25 passes Tommy DeVito’s first career meeting with the Patriots brought a 17-of-25 passing line. The 25-year-old undrafted rookie by way of Syracuse and Illinois threw for 191 yards, including 41 to the explosive Jalin Hyatt on third-and-16 against cornerback J.C. Jackson, who started and notched one breakup.

The Giants quarterback finished with one touchdown to wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins and no interceptions.

Safety Jabrill Peppers recovered a fumbled exchange on Sunday’s initial series. The New Jersey native then hit home for the initial sack on the fellow Don Bosco Prep alum. Five more sacks followed for New England. They were logged by Anfernee Jennings, Christian Barmore, Keion White, Deatrich Wise Jr. and returning signal-calling captain Ja’Whaun Bentley. There just was no margin for error.

Parker returns to wideout room as Douglas exits DeVante Parker hadn’t played a snap for the Patriots since October. The questionable wideout made his way back from the NFL’s concussion protocol to do so on Sunday. He drew the first pass, an incompletion on third-and-7, as well as the second on a screen that went for a gain of 19 yards.

No. 1 finished with three catches for 42 yards. A third-and-15 conversion was among them. But a depth chart that went by the quick game also went by Demario Douglas.

The rookie sparkplug out of Liberty saw six targets in the first half, including both interceptions, and finished the game with six catches for 49 yards on nine looks. Douglas went to the blue medical tent in the fourth frame after being clotheslined on a punt return. He would be downgraded from doubtful to out due to a head injury.