Preseason Week Four Live Blog: Patriots vs. Giants

Welcome to Week Four of the NFL Preseason, where the Patriots host the New York Giants in the final preseason game of 2019. The Patriots have had a strong summer, looking very good on defense and in the running game on offense. Tonight, to everyone’s surprise, Julian Edelman, Demaryius Thomas, and Josh Gordon will see some reps to get ready for Pittsburgh.

The thing to watch for tonight is bubble players, which are aplenty on this roster. Linebacker, defensive line, defensive back, receivers, and quarterbacks- all areas that are not even close to set in stone. Running back could also feature some surprises, so there is plenty to watch for tonight. Follow our Preseason Week Four Live Blog for all the updates and opinions you expect.

FIRST QUARTER

15:00- The Patriots will receive and go on offense to begin the night. Jarrett Stidham is the starter.

14:52- Stidham scrambles for a gain of eight; 2nd & 2…

14:13- Slant to Gordon, who was clearly held, is incomplete; 3rd & 2…

14:05- Comeback to Gordon, and he breaks the tackle for a gain of 20; 1st & 10…

13:20- Stidham escapes for a gain of eight; 2nd & 2…

12:42- Stidham hammered as he throws it incomplete; 3rd & 2…

12:36- Edelman with the catch for the 1st down, but it appeared that he reinjured his hand. That’s not good.

11:10- After three incompletions, the Patriots are forced to settle for a Stephen Gostkowski field goal. Patriots 3, Giants 0

11:07- LOTS of backups on the field for the Patriots defense…

11:02- Gain of five on the play; 2nd & 5…

10:22- Tate smokes Crossen for a 10-yard gain on the slant; 1st & 10…

9:44- Run for nine; the Patriots are getting their butts kicked on this series. 1st & 10…

9:08- 1st down on the run of two yards; 1st & 10 from the Patriots 45…

8:24- Tate beats Crossen easily on the fade because the throw was perfect; 1st & 10…

7:58- Munson with the tackle after a run of five; 2nd & 5…

7:00- Gain of four, and the Giants will be facing a 3rd & 1…

6:47- Great job by the defense to come up with the stop in a short-yardage situation. 4th & 1…

6:01- STUFFED! The Patriots defense wins the line of scrimmage and stops the Giants drive in the red zone. New England takes over, and this time they’ll try to punch in a touchdown instead of settling for a field goal. Patriots 3, Giants 0

5:58- Gordon with another drop, whose timing is way off; 2nd & 10…

5:54- Thomas with the catch for eight; 3rd & 2…

5:18- Slant to Thomas for seven yards; 1st & 10…

4:52- Stidham misses the A-gap blitz and is sacked for a loss nine…2nd & 19…

3:57- Brossette with the catch on the screen and he gains seven yards; 3rd & 12…

2:48- Stidham runs for 20 and picks up the 1st down; 1st & 10…

2:29- He giveth and he taketh away…Stidham didn’t feel the pressure, had the ball and his arm knocked down as he threw, and the ball fluttered in a Giant defenders arms. The Giants offense takes over in Patriots territory. Patriots 3, Giants 0

2:14- Run of two for the Giants; 2nd & 8…

1:37- Touchdown, Giants. Crossen, who I believe is firmly on the bubble, got scorched down the sideline. You don’t want to be the defensive back that plays bad or you’re likely going to be looking for a job. Giants 7, Patriots 3

1:32- Fumble, Patriots. Demaryius Thomas drops the handoff on the end-around and the Giants recover at the Patriots 13. Not good.

1:24- Crossen finally didn’t get beat, but New York challenged, saying that the receiver was interfered with. This new rule sucks. There, I said it.

1:21- Incomplete screen pass because of excellent defense by Cowart; 3rd & 10…

1:18- Incomplete pass to the back corner of the end zone; 4th & 10…and the Giants connect on the field goal. Giants 10, Patriots 3

:45- Stidham runs for three on second down; New England faces 3rd & 5 when the second quarter begins. At the end of one, the Giants lead by seven. Giants 10, Patriots 3

SECOND QUARTER

15:00- Deep throw to Gordon is incomplete, but he was interfered with. 1st & 10 from the Giants 35…

14:49- TOUCHDOWN, PATRIOTS! Stidham hits Thomas from 35 yards out on a beautiful back-shoulder throw. They went for two, but Thomas couldn’t come up with the catch. Giants 10, Patriots 9

14:43- Five-yard run for New York; 2nd & 5…

14:03- Six-yard run is negated by a hold; 2nd & 14…

13:32- Daniel Jones leaves his receiver out to dry and JoeJoun Williams made a perfect tackle; 3rd & 11…

12:53- Crossen got beat, but he made a nice recovery on the PBU. Crossen has incredible speed, but he needs to improve his ball skills. 4th & 11…and Olszewski makes the fair catch.

12:41- Run of two by Brossette; 2nd & 8…

12:11- Gordon for 12 on the slant, and it looks like the rust is flying off now. Look out, Pittsburgh. 1st & 10, Patriots, from the Giants 48…

11:38- Thomas, again, this time for 18 on the deep out, which is a very difficult throw to make. Thomas and Gordon look ready for the regular season, and it has to be fun for Stidham to get to throw to two great NFL receivers. 1st & 10…

10:59- Brossette runs for two…2nd & 8…

10:40- Brossette runs for 12; 1st & 10…

9:57- Stidham finds Thomas again on the out, and he picks up seven yards on the play; 2nd & 3…

9:20- Brossette runs for six and another Patriots 1st down; 1st & Goal…

8:38- TOUCHDOWN, PATRIOTS! Thomas with another touchdown catch, and it appears that the Patriots are putting the league on notice tonight. Gordon and Thomas are ready to go, as is Edelman, who will battle that injury all year. Patriots 16, Giants 10

7:56- Incomplete pass, and the Giants face 3rd & 6…

7:49- What appeared to be a first down run is actually a hold, and now the Giants are facing 3rd & 16…

7:16- INTERCEPTION, PATRIOTS! Crossen is redeeming himself right now, and the Patriots offense will come back on the field.

6:42- Brossette runs for seven on 1st down; 2nd & 3…

5:58- Brossette with a catch for six and another 1st down…

5:30- Brossette runs for five; 2nd & 5…

4:40- After a short gain, the Patriots face 3rd & 4…

4:21- Stidham throws it away on the bootleg because there was nothing there. Kind of an odd play to run to the weak side; there just isn’t a lot of room to make a play.

4:17- Field Goal, Patriots! Gostkowski connects, and the Patriots extend their lead to nine. Patriots 19, Giants 10

4:13- Illegal contact on the Patriots (Dawson) gives the Giants an automatic 1st down.

4:10- INTERCEPTION, PATRIOTS! Duke Dawson, another guy in jeopardy of being cut, makes the play of the foot deflection. The Patriots take over on the Giants 21…

3:58- Jakobi Meyers draws a PI in the end zone, and the Patriots will be at the Giants one-yard line; 1st & Goal…

3:54- TOUCHDOWN, PATRIOTS!! Brossette takes the toss left and follows his blockers in for six, and Gostkowski drills the extra point. GREAT seal block by Anderson, who I believe may be a surprise keeper. Patriots 26, Giants 10

3:05- Giants facing 3rd & 4…

2:17- Scooby Sack!! I need to trademark that. 4th & 10, and the Giants will punt…which is fair caught at the Patriots 40. Lots of time to go here in the half, so the Patriots will unleash the two-minute drill.

2:05- Brossette picks up one on the run; 2nd & 9, and we are now at the two-minute warning. Patriots 26, Giants 10

2:00- Incomplete pass and the Patriots face 3rd & 10 from their own 40…

1:53- Pass is behind Meyers, and he can’t make the catch. Bailey will come on to punt…

1:38- Sack by Wise! Another guy that seems to be on the bubble steps up and makes a sack; 2nd & 12…

:59- Crossen with another PBU on 3rd down and the Giants will punt…ouch! Olszewski went down awkwardly after getting upended.

:38- Olszewski with a catch for 25 yards…1st & 10…

:17- Good run by Stidham, but they are going to call a penalty for playing football. One of the worst calls I’ve ever seen. Gross. 1st & 25 because the refs are clueless. BOTH players saw hom before the CLEAN BLOCKS.

:05- FIELD GOAL, PATRIOTS! I usually don’t cap field goals, but Gostkowski drilled that from 51-yards out. Patriots 29, Giants 10

:00- That is the end of the 1st half, a half dominated by New England.

New England Patriots 29, New York Giants 10

HALFTIME

15:00- Bailey drills one to the back of the end zone for the touchback. 1st & 10, Giants…

13:32- Dawson with another PBU, and the Giants are facing 3rd & 8…

13:23- Gain of 17 on the reception; 1st & 10, Giants…

12:17- Gant should have picked it off, but at least he read the play correctly; 2nd & 10…

12:12- Gain of six, Giants facing 3rd & 4…

11:38- Pick up of eight, and the Giants now have 1st & Goal from the 10…

10:26- Gain of one; 2nd & Goal…

9:49- Incomplete pass; 3rd & Goal…

9:42- A dropped touchdown leads to a dropped interception. Two bad plays on one throw- welcome to the 3rd quarter of preseason game number four. The Giants connect on the field goal. Patriots 29, Giants 13

9:21- Seven-yard gain by Saubert; 2nd & 3…

9:00- Gain of one, 3rd & 2…

8:12- Flag down after what appeared to be a first down, and now the Patriots face 3rd & 12…

7:45- Gain of two, and Bailey will come on to punt…this game is a marathon.

6:22- 1st down reception and the Giants are at the Patriots 49…

5:13- Loss of three, and the Giants face 3rd & 12…

4:41- Pass is complete for a 1st down; 1st & 10 from the Patriots 35…

2:52- Touchdown, Giants. Gant gets beat right up the middle, and Simonson, who made the catch, was hurt on the play. Simonson played locally at Assumption, which is located in Worcester. The poor guy is going to have to get carted off, which typically means at least a fair amount of missed time. The Giants went for two, but it was broken up by Crossen. Patriots 29, Giants 19

2:40- Brossette runs for five; 2nd & 5…

1:57- Brissette with a loss of three; 3rd & 7…

1:22- Stidham appeared to fumble, but he just lost it on the “tuck rule” type pump fake. The Giants had a big punt return, were going to be called for a blindside block, but they picked up the flag.

:57- Refs call the makeup and give the Giants a holding call; 1st & 20.