Patriots Live Blog: Giants Win 16-13 In Preseason Finale
Final, 16-13 Giants: The Patriots tried to mount some sort of drive, but Garoppolo got sacked on first down, and that was all she wrote.
And with that, I have great news: It's officially the regular season. We'll see you for Week 1.
Fourth quarter, :38, 16-13 Giants: The Giants picked up a first down and got into field-goal range and ... Josh Brown naield the 37-yarder. That's a relief. Nobody wanted overtime.
Fourth quarter, 2:46, 13-13: The Patriots tried a "Why Not?" fourth-down conversion attempt, but Thompkins and Boyce seemed to have no clue what routes to run. Garoppolo threw to nobody, and the Giants need about 10 yards to get into field goal range.
Fourth quarter, 5:22, 13-13: Oh, dear. We're now entering the "We might go into overtime" mode.
Brandon Browner just got away with an obvious pass interference penalty that went uncalled, and the Giants had to punt. I think both sides can agree that we don't need extra football tonight.
Fourth quarter, 6:51, 13-13: A big gain to Brian Tyms on first down goes for naught, as Garoppolo ends up getting crushed on third down and the Patriots were forced to punt.
Fourth quarter, 8:57, 13-13: It's all tied up, after the Giants finally get the ball moving, this time with Curtis Painter under center.
Mostly of note on that drive was that Steve Beauharnais led with his helmet in trying to tackle Kendall Gaskins. Beauharnais appeared to get knocked pretty hard in the noggin, and he was slow to get up and a little dazed.
Fourth quarter, 14:11, 13-10 Patriots: The Pats get nothing out of the extra possession, and they punt it away after a three-and-out.
End of third quarter, 13-10 Patriots: Daxton Swanson says hello, first with a pass breakup on a deep ball down the right sideline and then by ripping the ball out of Adrien Robinson's arms while Nate Ebner was holding him up. Swanson then jumped on the loose ball before it fell out of bounds, and it now belongs to the Patriots.
Third quarter, 3:16, 13-10 Patriots: A promising drive ends up stalling out inside the 5-yard line, as Garoppolo twice misfired to Dobson in the end zone. Nevertheless, Gostkowski came on to kick a field goal to give the Patriots a lead.
Tim Wright had a nice catch-and-run early in the drive when he came across the middle, caught the pass in stride and gained 16 yards. Kenbrell Thompkins came in for some action, and he caught a pass on a quick slant on a third-and-6 to pick up a first down.
Third quarter, 8:02, 10-10: It's a full-on punting bonanza, as Logan Ryan made a great diving play to break up a pass on third down. Gallon handled this punt better than the last one, and the Pats will try to get a drive going.
In injury news, Michael Buchanan went down on that drive with an apparent lower-body injury. It didn't look serious, but that's easy for me to say.
Third quarter, 9:53, 10-10: Hold on to your hats, folks -- we've got another punt! The Patriots went three-and-out after Garoppolo missed Gallon on third down, and it's back to the Giants.
Third quarter, 11:23, 10-10: Jake Bequette came flying in from the left side to pick up a sack on third down, and we all got to see one more punt.
Rookie Jeremy Gallon muffed the kick, taking his eyes off the ball before making the catch, but he was able to recover it while getting swarmed by blue jerseys.
Third quarter, 12:53, 10-10: It looks like we're reverting back to the offense from the first half, as the Pats answer with a three-and-out of their own.
Third quarter, 13:55, 10-10: The Patriots forced a three-and-out, thanks to heavy pressure from Michael Buchanan on third down. Buchanan got a hand on Nassib's throwing arm, leading to a wobbly duck sailing futilely over the middle of the field.
Third quarter, 15:00, 10-10: The second half is underway at MetLife.
Halftime, 10-10: They're all tied up, after Garoppolo led another solid drive.
On a third-and-5, Garoppolo looked to his left before coming back to his right and seeing loads of space for James White along the sideline. Garoppolo put some touch on a pass, recognizing that he had the room to do it, and the two connected for a 29-yard gain.
Garoppolo ended up getting sacked on the next play, but he avoided pressure well two plays later to hit Wright for a gain of seven yards to give Gostkowski a shorter kick. He made it, and this one's tied up.
A kickoff, a kneeldown, and it's halftime.
Second quarter, 2:00, 10-7 Giants: Jimmy G. showed off the arm on a third-and-8, delivering a strike to the gut of Aaron Dobson on a deep out on the left side for a gain of 18 yards.
The Patriots are driving near midfield at the two-minute warning.
Second quarter, 3:31, 10-7 Giants: The Patriots' D came up with a huge stop on third-and-goal at the 1-yard line, with Nate Ebner and Darius Fleming combining to stop Peyton Hillis. But the good vibes didn't last long, as Hillis took a fourth-down handoff and went up and over the pile to score the Giants' first TD of the night.
Second quarter, 5:33, 7-3 Patriots: The one thing nobody wanted to see tonight was an injury, but rookie linebacker James Morris is down with a right leg injury.
Second quarter, 11:06, 7-3 Patriots: Jimmy Garoppolo is not afraid to throw a dangerous pass. This one resulted in a touchdown.
Facing a second-and-7 from the 33-yard line, Garoppolo lofted a pass deep down the left sideline. Dobson was in a hand fight with Trumaine McBride, but he kept his eyes on the pass and hauled it in as he fell across the goal line. Impressive stuff on both ends of that play.
Earlier on the drive, Garoppolo rolled to his right and connected with Wright for his first catch -- a gain of 9. Steve Maneri also ran a nice route up the right seam and made an 18-yard reception.
In an interesting twist -- practice for emergency duty, mostly -- Tom Brady came out onto the field to hold on the PAT. His finger's still attached, and the kick was good.
Second quarter, 14:48, 3-0 Giants: Quarterback Ryan Nassib missed Larry Donnell on consecutive plays, and the Giants had to settle for a field goal to score the first points of this game.
End of first quarter: We're still scoreless, but won't be for long.
That's because Andre Williams took an inside handoff on a fourth-and-1 near midfield, and the former BC back broke free, breaking up the right sideline before getting tackled by Nate Ebner inside the 10-yard line.
First quarter, 3:04: This Bowman interception, unfortunately for Jimmy, is going to count.
The Patriots had picked up a first down after consecutive completions to Tyms and Boyce. But two plays later, Boyce looked to run the wrong route, and Garoppolo threw to a place where his receiver was not. Bowman was, and it's Giants ball.
It's impossible to know whether it was Boyce or Garoppolo who made the mistake on that one, but nevertheless, the Giants take over near midfield.
First quarter, 6:15: Tavon Wilson might be one of the bubble boys tonight, but he just came up with a great tackle on a third-and-2 to force a pun. Eli Manning threw to Kellen Davis, and Wilson broke to the big receiver, wrapped him, and drove him out of bounds for no gain. Nice play by Wilson.
Still no score, and hardly any offense.
First quarter, 7:43: Another drive, another punt for the Patriots ... but given how it should have ended, New England will take it.
Garoppolo showed some flash on a third down inside his own 10-yard line, scrambling out of the pocket and then needling a pass through traffic to Gallon for a first down. Walter Thurmond was probably surprised to see the ball come out, because he was right there to make a pick. Somehow, the pass made it through his hands.
On the next play, Garoppolo actually was picked off, this one on a deep pass to Boyce. However, Zack Bowman was flagged for illegal contact (the bogus variety you've been seeing all preseason) before making the interception, so it didn't count.
First quarter, 11:03: The Giants' rolled out most of their starters on offense, and the Patriots' mishmash defense was able to force a punt.
After Eli Manning and Co. looked poised to roll right down the field, Rueben Randle dropped a pass and then was not on the same page as Eli on a third down.
First quarter, 12:48: The Patriots moved the chains just once, with Garoppolo connecting with Thompkins on a third-and-9. But the drive stalled out quickly, with Garoppolo misfiring on a throw to Boyce up the right seam and an incompletion to Jeremy Gallon, making his debut, over the middle.
FIrst-and-10 for the Giants at their own 32.
First quarter, 15:00: This one is under way!
The Giants kicked off to the Pats, with Boyce and White back deep, and the kick went out the back of the end zone.
First-and-10 at the 20 for Jimmy and the Pats.
7:05 p.m.: Here are the Patriots players who aren't even dressed in uniform tonight:
Brandon Bolden
Dominique Easley
Rob Gronkowski
Dont'a Hightower
Michael Hoomanawanui
Chris Jones
Chris Martin
Jerod Mayo
Sealver Siliga
Sebastian Vollmer
6:05 p.m.: The Patriots traded Logan Mankins this week (perhaps you heard?) so there will be some extra eyes on the offensive line tonight. One player I'm excited to see is Bryan Stork. The Patriots wouldn't have drafted him in the fourth round if they didn't think they had something with him, and he should get some extensive playing time tonight.
5:15 p.m.: From the Boston Herald's Jeff Howe, a group of players are working out on the field prior to the game, an indication that they won't be playing tonight.
That group includes:
Danny Amendola
Kyle Arrington
Tom Brady
Marcus Cannon
Jamie Collins
Dan Connolly
James Develin
Julian Edelman
Chandler Jones
Brandon LaFell
Ryan Mallett
Devin McCourty
Rob Ninkovich
Darrelle Revis
Stevan Ridley
Matthew Slater
Nate Solder
Joe Vellano
Shane Vereen
Ryan Wendell
Vince Wilfork
4:45 p.m.: It's game night for the Patriots, and though this one won't count for anything, it is nevertheless a most exciting evening.
Tonight is the preseason finale for the Patriots, as they take on the Giants in the preseason finale. Of course, it's more accurate to say that a bunch of people wearing Patriots and Giants will play each other, rather than saying the actual teams are facing each other.
Still, there will be plenty to watch in this one. Jimmy Garoppolo, the promising rookie QB, will be taking snaps for New England, and he's worth the price of admission alone.
The rest of the roster will be battling it out for the final spots, as NFL teams have to cut down their rosters to 53 players on Saturday. It's rare that a player can actually win a job in the fourth preseason game, but a strong showing tonight could be the final case for a number of players.
We'll also get to see Aaron Dobson for the first time. Dobson often got lumped in with all the woes of the "rookie receivers" last year, but he probably has the highest potential ceiling among that group. The Patriots will want him ready for Week 1, so we'll see tonight how he looks.
We'll have every update all night right here in the live blog, so stay tuned throughout the game.
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