Brady leads way as New England improves to 6-0
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady had two touchdown runs and moved ahead of Peyton Manning for second place on the NFL’s all-time passing yards list as the New England Patriots pulled away for a 3514 victory over the New York Giants on Thursday night.
The reigning Super Bowl champions also returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and forced four turnovers, including a fumble return for a score, to move to 6-0 for the first time since time since 2015.
Brady finished 31-of-41 passing for 334 yards and an interception, and Julian Edelman had his second consecutive 100-yard receiving game, catching nine passes for 113 yards.
Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones had three interceptions on the night, finishing 15-of-31 for 161 yards.
New England now won 19 consecutive games against a first or second-year quarterback, the longest streak in NFL history.
Despite struggling to move the ball for most of the game, New York (2-4) had the ball trailing 21-14 with 8:43 left in the fourth quarter.
Jones completed a pass to running back Jon HIlliman, who was hit in the backfield by Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins, forcing a fumble. The ball was recovered by Kyle Van Noy, who sprinted 22 yards and stretched the ball to the pylon for the touchdown.
It was part of an errorfilled game by both offenses, who entered the night dealing with key injuries
The Giants were missing three of their top playmakers. Running back Saquon Barkley sat a third consecutive game because of a sprained right ankle, tight end and leading receiver Evan Engram was inactive with a knee injury and receiver Sterling Shepard was in the concussion protocol. Barkley’s backup Wayne Gallman also sat with a concussion.
The Patriots played without running back Rex Burkhead, who missed his second straight consecutive game with a foot injury. Receiver Phillip Dorsett was inactive, also with an injured foot.
As a result, both teams had issues executing and hanging onto the ball.
Jones was confused at times by New England’s coverages, which contributed to his turnovers. And Brady, in addition to his interception, had a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.
The Patriots moved swiftly on the opening drive, getting to the Giants’ 19. But Sony Michel was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-1.
New England took over in New York territory for its third possession after Stephon Gilmore deflected a pass by Jones that was intercepted by John Simon. The Patriots gave the ball right back on the first play after the changeover when Janoris Jenkins picked off Brady’s pass intended for Edelman.