Patriots win 10th straight in prime-time stomping of Giants

The New England Patriots just continue to roll.

Powered by big plays in all three phases of the game and another MVP-worthy performance from quarterback Drake Maye, the Patriots stomped the New York Giants on "Monday Night Football" at Gillette Stadium, by a 33-15 final score that makes the game seem closer than it was. If not for a sometimes-shaky red zone offense, the Patriots might've threatened to hang 50 points on the G-Men, as they ultimately cruised to their 10th straight win. Monday marked the first time the Pats won 10 straight in a season since 2015.

The Patriots scored first, but not in the way they'd hoped. They converted two third-down plays along the way down the field, but the drive eventually stalled out at the 4-yard line after a Maye pass attempt fell incomplete, intended for Stefon Diggs in the end zone. Rookie kicker Andy Borregales made the 22-yard chip shot to put the Pats up 3-0.

From there, complementary football took over in Foxboro. First, the defense got a stop, smothering the Giants offense after just five plays and 15 yards with some sharp tackling. Then, Marcus Jones took the punt 94 yards to the end zone for his second return touchdown of the season, which gave the Pats a 10-0 lead.

The defense followed that up by forcing a three-and-out, aided by an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Giants' Theo Johnson for starting a scuffle after Pats linebacker Christian Elliss delivered a punishing hit to a scrambling Jaxson Dart. After Jones returned his second punt for 17 yards, Maye and the offense capitalized with their first touchdown drive of the night. Powered by a 36-yard hookup between Maye and tight end Hunter Henry, the drive finished with a TD catch by Kayshon Boutte on a similar-looking fade route. This gave the Patriots a 17-0 lead, which is what the score would be entering the second quarter.

New York finally grabbed some momentum back after the Boutte touchdown, starting with a 34-yard kick return by Deonte Banks. A personal foul against Pats safety Jaylinn Hawkins gifted them 15 yards, then Dart completed a short pass to wideout Darius Slayton, who eluded the rest of the defense on his way to the end zone for a 30-yard catch-and-run touchdown, which made it 17-7.

The Giants had a chance to keep the momentum going in their favor after sacking Maye to force a punt, then getting favorable field position off a shanked punt by Bryce Baringer. But late in the ensuing drive, Hawkins broke up a third-down pass attempt in the end zone, then Giants kicker Younghoe Koo committed an odd blunder to miss the field goal try. Koo kicked into the turf before ever reaching the ballm resulting in a sack on holder Jamie Gillan and a turnover on downs.

Maye and the offense took full advantage of the blooper-reel kick attempt. First he made up for a second-and-22 situation off a holding penalty, delivering a 13-yard strike to Boutte. Then he lofted a 33-yard rainbow to the end zone, where rookie receiver Kyle Williams came down with an impressive over-the-shoulder catch for his second touchdown of the season. This made it 24-7 Patriots.

Unfortunately for the Giants, the disasters kept coming. Former Patriot Gunner Olszewski took the ensuing kick return, but got popped by Elliss for a fumble. Pats defensive end Elijah Ponder recovered the loose ball to give them possession at the Giants' 27-yard line. Safety Paulson Adebo got his team the stop, however, with a pass breakup against Henry on third down. So the Pats settled for another field goal, this time from 30 yards, to make it 27-7.

After the defense forced a late punt, the Patriots threatened yet again at the end of the second quarter. Rhamondre Stevenson took a short swing pass from Maye for a 36-yard catch-and-run, slipping out of bounds to stop the clock with 16 seconds left. The Patriots ultimately settled for another field goal, this time from 28 yards out, to go up 30-7 at halftime.

The third quarter went scoreless, as the Pats finally missed a field goal try and the Giants had another turnover on downs. But New York showed signs of life on their second possession of the third, which bled into the fourth. After chipping away for 43 yards in eight plays, running back Devin Singletary took the ninth play for 22 yards, slicing through the Pats defense for a touchdown run. The Giants went for two, and Dart scrambled around for several seconds before finding Slayton for the conversion, making it 30-15.

After trading punts, the Patriots got the ball back with 7:41 left in the game. They bled 5:27 off and Borregales converted his fourth field goal to make it 33-15 and essentially ice it.

Up Next: The Patriots (11-2) now head into their bye week as the No. 1 team in the AFC. They'll return to game action in Week 15, when they host the Buffalo Bills with a chance to clinch the AFC East crown.

Note: This article previously stated the Patriots play the Ravens on the road in Week 15. They actually play the Bills at home.