Drake Maye passed for two touchdowns, Marcus Jones had a 94-yard punt return for a TD and the New England Patriots became the first NFL team to reach 11 wins this season, beating the New York Giants 33-15 on Monday night.
It was the 10th straight victory for the AFC-leading Patriots (11-2), the franchise’s longest streak since winning 10 consecutive games in 2015. Coach Mike Vrabel also became the third coach since 1970 to have a win streak of 10 or more games in his first season with a team.
Maye completed 24 of 31 passes for 282 yards with no interceptions.
The Giants (2-11) lost their seventh straight game, and third in a row since firing Brian Daboll. Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart returned after missing two games because of a concussion, but there wasn’t much he could do. Dart threw a touchdown pass to Darius Slayton and finished 17 of 24 for 139 yards. Devin Singletary added a touchdown run.
Dart played with his usual style in his return. On a second down on the team’s second offensive series, Dart scrambled toward the New York bench and tried to tip-toe up the sideline for extra yards. It left him open for a clean hit to the midsection by Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss, who sent Dart hard to the turf. The tackle caused a brief shoving match between several players. No flags were thrown for Elliss’ tackle, but after a discussion by officials, Giants tight end Theo Johnson was called for unnecessary roughness for his role in the post-play scrum.
Dart was not evaluated following the hit and remained in the game for the next play.
The Giants defense started the game well, holding the Patriots to a field goal on the game’s opening possession in their first game under the direction of interim coordinator Charlie Bullen. Bullen was elevated to the role after Shane Bowen was fired 12 games into his second season.
It didn’t last.
Trailing 10-0 after Jones’ punt return TD and a quick three-and-out that included the Elliss hit on Dart, Maye used a 36-yard pass to Hunter Henry to set up his touchdown pass to Boutte. New England led 30-7 at halftime, marking the first time since Week 17 of 2009 season that the Giants had allowed 30 points in the first half.
Giants coach Mike Kafka chose to bench Giants rookie linebacker Abdul Carter for the first quarter. It marks the second time the No 3 overall pick in the draft was benched for disciplinary reasons. He was previously held out of the first series of New York’s November loss to Green Bay.
A second-quarter incident summed up the Giants’ miserable season. Lined up for a 47-yard field-goal attempt, Giants kicker Younghoe Koo got his cleat caught in the turf and never got off a kick. Holder Jamie Gillan tried to get up and run but was tackled for what was scored as a 13-yard sack by Jeremiah Pharms. It wasn’t New York’s only special teams mishap. Gunner Olszewski also fumbled on a kickoff return late in the first half after being sandwiched on a tackle by Marte Mapu and Elliss.
