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New England Patriots 4 Downs Review: Week 6 vs New York Giants

By Michael Perry

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 10: Julian Edelman #11 of the New England Patriots catches a 36 yard pass against the New York Giants during the fourth quarter in the game at Gillette Stadium on October 10, 2019 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 10: Julian Edelman #11 of the New England Patriots catches a 36 yard pass against the New York Giants during the fourth quarter in the game at Gillette Stadium on October 10, 2019 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 10: Kyle Van Noy #53 of the New England Patriots runs the ball for a touchdown after recovering a fumble lost by Jon Hilliman #28 of the New York Giants during the fourth quarter in the game at Gillette Stadium on October 10, 2019 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 10: Kyle Van Noy #53 of the New England Patriots runs the ball for a touchdown after recovering a fumble lost by Jon Hilliman #28 of the New York Giants during the fourth quarter in the game at Gillette Stadium on October 10, 2019 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Getty Images) /

4th Down: Defense…defense…defense…

While the New England Patriots offense has been sluggish the last few games, the defense has been that much better.

Thursday night was no different for the dominant defense. They only gave up 213 yards on offense (161 through the air and 52 on the ground). They also forced a fumble that led to a Kyle Van Noy touchdown.

Stephon Gilmore, Duron Harmon, and John Simon each had an interception. The defense pressured rookie quarterback Daniel Jones all game but could only record one sack. The Giants were without their best player on offense, Saquon Barkley, but the defense still showed up… along with the special teams, who forced a blocked punt and a resulting Chase Winovich touchdown.

Devin McCourty said the following on the Patriots’ team website about all the turnovers they forced Thursday night:

"“I think I keep saying it’s a whole defensive effort. It’s pressure, it’s disguise, it’s guys when the ball is thrown to them, catching it. And I think that’s something we know we have to do as a defense. It makes us a better team. Tonight we did a good job of taking advantage of our opportunities that came up.”"

Another star of the night was New England veteran safety Duron Harmon, and here is what he said about the defense, again via the team website:

"“We’re playing well. We’re doing some good things. We can do some things better. I think the last three weeks there have been a couple of big plays that has really been the reason why they scored. We have to do a better job on that. Other than that we did a really good job getting after the quarterback, creating turnovers, getting off the field and giving our offense plenty of times to move the ball.”"

Next. Tom Brady, Eli Manning, and the end of an era. dark

If the New England defense keeps playing with this kind of intensity and determination, the Patriots will be a hard out for any team in the NFL. Assuming they get their offense in line with the defense and special teams, this could easily be the best team in the league.

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