6 rings: Patriots vs. giants preview with Patriots.com’s Evan Lazar
With the hay officially in the barn, the Patriots are headed to The Meadowlands on Saturday ahead of their Sunday afternoon contest versus the New York Giants.
As I'm sure you're well aware, with each team sitting near the bottom of their respective conferences and in the top-5 of the 2024 NFL Draft, whoever wins this game doesn't really matter.
The players do, though. It's their job, their livelihood, and how they put food on the table. So here are 10 to watch this weekend:
10 - DT Dexter Lawrence, Giants and 9 - DT Kayvon Thibodeaux, Giants
To the trenches we go for the first two players to watch this weekend, as DT Dexter Lawrence and DE Kayvon Thibodeaux make up one of the Giants’ few strengths in their front seven.
On the 2023 season, Thibodeaux leads New York with 10.5 sacks and Lawrence mucks up the middle of the field with 41 tackles and has tallied 4 sacks as well.
Here’s what Bill Belichick said on Lawerence, one of the better defensive tackles in football, this week:
“He’s a really good player. He’s a major force, hard guy to block, big, athletic, blocks kicks. It’s hard to move him off the line of scrimmage, and when he penetrates, he can penetrate as well as any player in the league. He’s big and powerful and long. It’s pretty unique. I mean, we’ve faced a lot of good inside players, going back even to preseason – [Quay] Walker in Green Bay, you can go right down the line. Guys that we’ve seen or worked against, or whatever. This guy’s a major force.”
And on Thibodeaux:
“It’s a good complement, because he’s a speed guy on the edge and Lawrence is a vertical penetration guy inside, so those two guys complement each other. It’s hard to step up in the pocket because of Lawrence, and you can’t get back there too far, or you’ll have to deal with the edge from Thibodeaux. They both help each other, but he’s very athletic. He makes good plays in pursuit, chase, athletic guy on the edge. Two good players that really complement each other.”
It’ll be ‘game-on’ for an already banged up Patriots offensive line.
8 - DT Christian Barmore, Patriots
Okay fine, we’ll stay in the trenches for No. 8 as well because Christian Barmore has arguably been the Patriots’ best player this season.
The 38th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Barmore has always been dominant in the run game (2.5 run stuff this season). This year, however, he’s also began to make an impact in the pass game with a career high three sacks in 2023.
Barmore, who has been dealing with a knee injury, was removed from the injury report on Friday and is healthy heading into this weekend. Next season is a very important one for the former Alabama Crimson Tide player as he enters a contract year, so staying heathy, while putting on a show, for the remainder of this season is paramount for him moving forward.
7 - QB Tommy DeVito, Giants
Much like the Patriots’ quarterback situation, which we’ll get to, the Giants have had quite a whirlwind of the position themselves this season. After starter Daniel Jones went out earlier in the season with a neck injury, Tyrod Taylor had to come in and subsequently got hurt himself. Then, when Jones came back, he tore him ACL.
So in comes Tommy DeVito, the undrafted rookie out of Syracuse. A Jersey native, DeVito has started the last three games for New York and got his first win last week versus the Commanders.
Completeing 18 of 36 pass attempts for 256 yards and three touchdowns, he looked to have far more control of the offense last week than he had in his previous starts and relief appearances.
Of course, the Patriots probably(?) have a better defense than the Commanders, which will make his life harder, but it’ll be interesting to see what the kid can continue to do.
6 - WR Jalin Hyatt, Giants
Giants rookie Jalin Hyatt is the reigning Fred Bilentnikoff winner, given to college football’s best wide receiver in a given season. Last yeat at Tennessee, he hauled in 67 passes for 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns from quarterback Hendon Hooker helping lead the Volunteers to a No. 6 overall ranking and an Orange Bowl victory.
Now in New York, Hyatt has just 12 receptions on the season for 221 yards and 0 touchdowns, but his speed and size mix is still one to keep an eye on in this matchup. The 2023 73rd overall pick stands 6-feet tall and ran a 4.40-second 40-yard at February’s NFL Combine, giving him the ability to pop off and take over at a moments notice.
5 - CB J.C. Jackson, Patriots
Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson has had quite an eventful couple of weeks. After showing up late to bed-check prior to the team’s November contest against the Commanders, he was benched to start the game and was ultimately told to go home the following week to get his mind right, and didn’t make the trip to Germany the following week.
“It was a punishment on my behalf and that’s what it was,” Jackson told MassLive’s Mark Daniels this week. “I didn’t take it any other way than, ‘this is punishment and I hope you learn from it and grow from this mistake I made’, and I’m here now, so hopefully that won’t happen again. It was all my fault. I made a mistake. That’s what you’re going to get from Bill [Belichick]. That’s one thing about him. He’s going to discipline no matter who you are.”
Belichick was asked about Jackson’s return to the team this week on Friday:
“J.C.’s been good. He’s been good. Practiced well, getting ready to go. Competed well.”
With the Patriots cornerback situation reeling following various injuries and the release of Jack Jones, Jackson will certainly need to step up to the plate this Sunday.
4 - QB Mac Jones Patriots, 3 - QB Bailey Zappe, Patriots, 2 - QB Will Grier, Patriots
Since we don’t know who the quarterback will be this coming Sunday, we’ll have to keep eyes out for all three Patriots signal callers at the Meadowlands.
“I’ve told everybody to be ready to go,” Bill Belichick said, again, on Friday when asked about who will be under center.
Bill O’Brien told reporters this week that Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe, and Will Grier all took first team reps last week, but ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported on Wednesday that reps were split evenly between Jones and Zappe on Monday, with Jones always being first.
Could they make a slight change on Sunday, activating all three quarterbacks so you can use everyone? Possibly, but at this point it feels more likely that Jones will start the game. What happens after that is a crapshoot.
1 - RB Saquon Barkley, Giants
The best player in this weekend's game from MetLife is Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Barkley has rushed for 661 yards on 153 carries in 2023 thus far, good for 4.3 yards per attempt, while also adding 27 receptions for 162 yards and four touchdowns through the air.
“Offensively,” Bill Belichick said of the Giants, “...Barkley is a major force, a go to guy for them.”
That's putting it lightly. The duel-threat playmaker is the one true threat New York has on the offensive side of the ball, and will be priority No. 1 for New England's defense on Sunday. He'll ultimately make or break who wins and loses the contest.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
Related
