The New England Patriots earned their 10th consecutive win in style Monday night against the New York Giants.
It was a beatdown from the beginning, with the Patriots jumping out to a quick 17-0 lead and the defense asserting its dominance with its physicality. New England cruised to a 33-15 victory to regain the top seed in the AFC.
Mike Vrabel’s group was outstanding in all three phases of the game, again showing why their NFL-best 11-2 record is no fluke. Our Patriots insider Phil Perry highlighted the biggest standouts — and nitpicked a couple of negative moments — from Monday’s win in his “Stock Watch” report for Week 13:
Stock Up
Drake Maye, quarterback
Another ho-hum dominant performance for the second-year passer. He completed 77 percent of his throws and his 126.0 rating was somehow only his seventh-best of the season. He had the ball out quickly with two backup linemen protecting him, and yet he still found ways to push the ball down the field for chunk gains.
He’s now just the second quarterback younger than 24 years old to have 10 straight wins with a rating of at least 80.0 in each. The other? Dan Marino.
Christian Elliss, linebacker
The leading tackler for the Patriots on Monday Night Football (10), Elliss made a statement with his physicality throughout the night. He blew up Jaxson Dart along the sideline. He forced a fumble when he combined with Marte Mapu to lay out Gunner Olszewski. When Mike Vrabel described his preferred style of defense as “violent,” Elliss’ performance would qualify.
Marcus Jones, cornerback/returner
Needing just one more return to officially qualify for the NFL’s top career average punt-return mark, Marcus Jones took his place atop the league’s all-time list in style. His 94-yard punt return made the game 10-0 in the first quarter and helped give Jones a career average of 14.6, well ahead of the all-time average leader George McAfee (12.8), who played for the Bears in the 1940s.
Stock Down
Ben Brown, guard
Filling in for injured left guard Jared Wilson, Brown handled his responsibilities in pass protection like a pro. Very few problems there. But he was flagged for a hold, and he also picked up an illegal shift penalty that wiped a long Hunter Henry touchdown off the board.
Bryce Baringer, punter
Only two punts on the day for Baringer, but he shanked a 22-yarder that in a closer game might’ve been a problem.
