New England moves to 11-2 on the season, while the Giants drop to 2-11



The New England Patriots have won 10 straight games and moved to 11-2 on the season after a "Monday Night Football" takedown of the New York Giants, 33-15. The victory moves New England back atop the AFC as the No. 1 seed, while the Giants -- already eliminated from playoff contention -- drop to 2-11.

The Patriots took control from jump street thanks to stellar special teams play, including a 94-yard punt return for a touchdown by Marcus Jones in the first quarter. That helped create a 10-point cushion in the blink of an eye, and that's where Drake Maye and the offense took the baton and guided the club to a blowout win.

Maye orchestrated two touchdown drives in the first half, the second capped by a 33-yard strike to rookie wideout Kyle Williams. That sent the Patriots into the locker room with a 30-7 lead, and they controlled the game thoroughly from there with clock-bleeding field goal drives.

As for the Giants, there wasn't much to write home about beyond a 30-yard touchdown pass from Jaxson Dart to Darius Slayton in the first half and a 22-yard scoring run by Devin Singletary in the fourth quarter. Two critical errors came early: Tight end Theo Johnson dropped a would-be touchdown on a deep ball from Dart, and kicker Younghoe Koo whiffed on a 47-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter, turning the ball over on downs.

New England enters its bye week from here, while the Giants will look to snap their seven-game losing streak when they host the Washington Commanders in Week 14.

For more on how this game unfolded, check out our takeaways below.

Patriots special teams shine
New England's special teams were hot out of the gate. On the opening kickoff, running back/returner Terrell Jennings took the ball 39 yards to the Patriots' 47-yard line, helping set up a field goal on the first possession.

After the defense forced New York to punt on its opening drive, the Giants kicked it to Marcus Jones, who raced 94 yards for a touchdown to make it a double-digit lead midway through the first quarter. The return tied Julian Edelman's 94-yarder in 2011 for the longest in franchise history.

Those returns propelled New England to a 17-0 first-quarter lead -- its largest since 2019.

Younghoe Koo chunks FG attempt
Every amateur golfer will be able to relate to Younghoe Koo's bizarre field goal attempt midway through the second quarter. His 47-yard try never even reached the football. Instead, his planting and timing were off, his foot dug into the turf and holder Jamie Gillan was taken down for a sack.

Jaxson Dart continues to take massive hits
Playing for the first time since suffering a concussion and missing the previous two games, Jaxson Dart still didn't shy away from contact. The rookie quarterback repeatedly took unnecessary hits throughout the night.

On New York's second possession, Dart scrambled for 12 yards on second-and-13 but refused to step out of bounds, absorbing a legal but thunderous blow from Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss.

It wasn't the only one. On the Giants' first drive, Dart held the ball too long and ate a big hit from pass rusher Harold Landry instead of throwing it away.

While Dart's legs are a huge part of his game, he'll need to learn when to use them and when to simply go down and live and fight another day. Even after suffering a concussion and missing two games, it appears the message hasn't sunk in.

Drake Maye continues MVP surge
After Matthew Stafford committed three turnovers in Sunday's loss to the Panthers, Monday gave Drake Maye another opportunity to strengthen his MVP candidacy. He delivered, completing 24 of 34 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns.

Maye also showed why he's widely considered the league's best deep-ball thrower. Late in the first half on third-and-9, he dropped a perfectly placed 33-yard touchdown to rookie Kyle Williams.

Maye now leads the NFL in completion percentage and passer rating through 13 weeks, pushing him squarely into the MVP race — if not making him the favorite.

Abdul Carter benched for first quarter
New York's first-round rookie has been in the doghouse in recent weeks, including during Monday's loss to the Patriots. Carter was benched for the first quarter of Week 13, which marks his second benching in the last three weeks. The No. 3 overall pick was spotted on the field in the second quarter and sacked Drake Maye.

The prior benching was reportedly due to Carter sleeping through a walkthrough, which the pass rusher has denied. He did acknowledge, however, that he missed the session, but claimed he was getting treatment. It's unclear what led to Carter's benching this time around, but the Penn State product isn't putting himself in the best light.

Patriots back to No. 1 in the AFC
Denver briefly overtook New England for the AFC's top seed with its Sunday night win over Washington, but the Patriots reclaimed it with Monday's victory.

As they enter their Week 14 bye, they'll keep a close eye on Denver's trip to Las Vegas. A Broncos loss would only strengthen New England's grip on the No. 1 seed down the stretch.

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