FOXBORO, Mass. -- The New England Patriots didn't cruise to an easy win Thursday night against the New York Giants, but the defending Super Bowl champs still finished the job with a 35-14 victory at Gillette Stadium.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had an up-and-down night. His final stats were decent: He completed 31 of 41 pass attempts for 334 yards with zero passing touchdowns and one interception, but he did find the end zone twice on QB sneaks.
He also had a few rare miscommunications with his most trusted wide receiver, Julian Edelman. There were several other throws that lacked the accuracy we're accustomed to seeing from Brady, including an interception in the first quarter he would describe after the game as a "bad decision."
In fairness to Brady, the Patriots were shorthanded at wide receiver as a result of Phillip Dorsett being ruled out with a hamstring injury and Josh Gordon exiting in the second quarter because of a knee injury. But overall, it wasn't a smooth night for the offense.
Brady's description of Thursday's win was rather simple: It wasn't pretty, but the ultimate goal was met.
"How do I describe it? Happy we won. Happy to get to 6-0," Brady said.
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"Yeah, we just grinded it out pretty good. Got kind of forced into one grouping there in the second half. I don’t think that’s ever happened in 20 years, but defense played great, special teams played great. Outside of a few plays, it would have been pretty good. So, we’re hanging in there."
The Patriots didn't enjoy the same success running the ball against the Giants as they did last week versus the Washington Redskins. The run game, however, isn't the only concern involving New England's offense. The offensive line gave up four sacks over the first three games. In the last three games, it has surrendered seven sacks. Injuries are piling up everywhere for the Patriots, too, including wide receiver, running back and the offensive line.
New England has played three games in a 12-day span, which is a brutal stretch that takes a huge toll on players from both a physical and mental perspective. Luckily for the Patriots, they have an extended period of time off before getting ready to face the New York Jets on the road in Week 7 on "Monday Night Football."
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