The New England Patriots are celebrating yet another victory and are in distress with the loss of another pivotal contributor. The league leader in field goals made in the NFL each of the last two seasons, Gostkowski went to 21-for-21 this year with his successful boot and the Patriots went to 9-0 with a 27-26 triumph. The duo went at it throughout the Patriots’ 27-26 win as key second-year players for their respective teams, Butler, New England’s No. 1 corner, and Beckham Jr., the Giants’ No. 1 receiver and one of the best receivers in the game. Julian Edelman was out early in the game due to a broken foot (and likely will be sidelined the remainder of the season).
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Losing Edelman a week after losing pass-catching back Dion Lewis to a torn ACL means Brady’s high-powered passing attack will undergo a late-season transition of personnel and, potentially, production. Leading wide receiver Julian Edelman broke a bone in his left foot during the first quarter and left the game. No matter the records involved, no matter how good New England was or how bad the Giants were, they had the Pats’ number.
Quarterback Tom Brady completed a pass on a fourth-and-ten play during the final drive which got the ball just within Gostkowski’s range for a dramatic victor.
Officials ruled a touchdown, but replays showed Butler batted the ball out of Beckham’s hands before his second foot was on the ground to complete the catch.
After driving more than 90 yards down the field, the Giants faced a first-and-goal from the Patriots’ 5-yard line.
The Giants wound up with Brown’s fourth field goal – leaving the Patriots plenty of room and 1:47 on the clock to march downfield for the victory. “All I think about is try not to kick it too hard, because a lot of the time, when I miss kicks, it’s because I try to kill it. I just try to think of smooth kick, smooth swing, under control and making the kick”. “You’ve got to make the play yourself and it was just a case of playing the play longer than the opponent”.
Jason Pierre-Paul promised the Giants would get after Tom Brady and they did. As good as the Pats are, Edelman would be a significant loss. It was another huge play by the defense, like Chandler Jones’ strip sack of Manning in the second quarter with the Giants at the New England 16. On Sunday, he pulled in 10 of his 11 targets for 79 yards, including three clutch catches on the Patriots’ game-winning drive in the final minute. Eli Manning, the man who threw him the would-be touchdown, was not surprised when the call was overturned.
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“Stephen hit a true ball”, said Belichick. Obviously, this originates back in 2007 with the David Tyree catch, which I would acknowledge as one of the greatest plays I’ve ever seen if I didn’t hate it so much. He’s on pace for 43 touchdown passes, which would make him only the second player in history to have a 50-touchdown season and 40-touchdown season.
