Giants vs Patriots: Three Keys to a New England Thursday Victory

Not many are giving the New York Giants to come into Foxboro on Thursday night and take down the mighty undefeated New England Patriots, and very much for good reason.

Missing from the Giants attack include a number of key offensive pieces, including their new top running backs Saquon Barkley (Ankle) and Wayne Gallman (Concussion), wide out Sterling Shepard (Concussion), and leading tight end Evan Engram (Knee).

Plus the Giants will have rookie Daniel Jones under center, a player who has shown promise but will have mountains to climb to beat the 17-point favorite Pats.

So what do that Pats have to do to make sure not to lay a home egg tonight and get to 6-0? Here’s a couple quick keys.

1. Play Smart

The way that you lose games when you are heavy favorites is pretty simple, make silly mistakes like turnovers and penalties.

You beat bad teams by getting them down early, and then keeping your foot on the throat and not giving them confidence.

The Pats are usually very good in this area, and do have room for error, but can’t be complacent against a nothing to lose Giants team.

2. Pressure Jones

Daniel Jones is a young QB who has shown signs of promise, but in what’s going to be his most pressure filled start of his career, he’s going to be hard-pressed to make plays without his best playmakers.

The Pats D-line should be able to get into the backfield early and often on Jones, and if the team can get Jones down a few times, it’ll make it that much easier to walk off with an easy win on a night they have no reason not to lose.

3. Establish the Run

Sony Michel last week was able to get off against the Redskins for a solid game, and the same thing should be the case tonight against the Giants.

The Pats O-line, which was a question mark entering the season, has held up well, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Michel possibly go over 100 yards in this one and it also will keep the Pats D fresh and off the field.

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