New York Giants: 3 takeaways from Week 6 loss to Pats
By Ed Stein
The undermanned New York Giants lost to perhaps the NFL’s best team, New England, on Thursday night, 35-14. Here are our takeaways from the game.
As most forecasted it would happen, the New York Giants went down to New England on Thursday night. Entering the game as a 17-point underdog, Big Blue couldn’t cover the spread in a 35-14 loss at Gillette Stadium. They gave it a good run and kept the game close longer than anyone thought they would. In the end, the Patriots were too much for the G-Men to handle.
It was a one-score game until New England’s Kyle Van Noy returned a Jon Hilliman fumble for a touchdown with 8:33 left in the third quarter. The TD made the 28-14 and that proved to be too much for Big Blue to overcome. To the New York Giants credit, they weren’t intimidated by 2019’s best team, nor did they ever give up.
There is no such thing as a good loss, especially one by three touchdowns. But through all the muck of Thursday night, Big Blue fans can see that this team is improving. Maybe if the G-Men had some of their missing playmakers the game might have been closer. The next time these two teams meet expect a much better outcome for the New York Giants.
Here are our three takeaways from the game.
1. Hold on to the Ball
Anyone watching the game barely saw the New York Giants offense. They were on the field for only a third of the contest. The G-Men possessed the ball for 20:24 of the 60 minutes played as compared to New England’s 39:36. There were two big reasons for the disparity, ineffectiveness, and turnovers. Bill Belichick’s defense is outstanding and one of the league’s best. They were certainly better on Thursday, holding Big Blue to 213 total yards.
Turnovers once again reared their ugly head. Daniel Jones threw three interceptions, and as mentioned above the Hilliman lost a fumble. The Giants have to better in this regard. Giving away the ball as much as they have the past three weeks (nine times) will undermine the best teams, let alone one that is struggling to rebuild.