Giants vs. Patriots: 6 Ways New England Can Beat New York on Sunday

In a season full of firsts for the New England Patriots, there isn't much solace to be had in the idea that they don't often lose two games in a row.

The New York Giants are as tough an opponent as they've faced all year, and there are plenty of game-breaking threats on the roster that will warrant extra attention when New England installs its game plan in practices this week.

With the media firestorm that the Patriots have been under all week, you'd think they were completely incapable of beating anybody, but sure enough, one look at their record shows they did enough to earn five wins despite their two tough losses, both road games against tough opponents no less.

Rest assured, this Patriots team is capable of beating just about any opponent they face, and the New York Giants are certainly no different.

Take Advantage If the Giants Come out Flat on Offense

Before this past week, NFL teams were a combined 3-9 coming off of bye weeks. The Giants appeared to be on pace to continue that trend, as they came out sluggish on offense and defense at home against the winless Miami Dolphins.

The Giants had three promising drives stall out, one of which resulted in a field goal, before they finally punched it into the end zone with just eight seconds remaining in the first half.

If the Giants come onto the field at Gillette Stadium and aren't in sync, the Patriots could jump out to an early lead. That is, of course, if their offense isn't as flat as it has been for the past few weeks (and progressively getting flatter, as shown in this graph on Shutdown Corner).

Disguise Their Coverages

Early on in the season, when the Patriots were playing a lot of man coverages, people said they needed to play more zone. Now that they've been (unsuccessfully) running more zone coverages, people are calling for more man.

At this point, it's hard to argue that the Patriots have the personnel to do either effectively. They must now disguise their coverages to prevent from being scorched. The surest way to give up yards in bunches is for a quarterback—especially one like Eli Manning who has been so safe with the ball—to know what you're doing defensively.

Especially when you're not good at anything. The best bet is to disguise everything pre-snap, and hope that in this way, they can accomplish one of three things:

• confuse the Giants receivers
• confuse Eli Manning
• create miscommunication between them, with one seeing one thing and the other seeing another thing in coverage

Expose Giants Lack of a Running Game

The big news out of Giants camp today is that Ahmad Bradshaw will likely miss the game on Sunday with an ailing foot. 

Looks like Brandon Jacobs may not have to spend his time on the bench after all. Or driving around in his "fast-ass car." Instead, he'll bring his highly-ineffective average of three yards per carry onto the field at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots biggest problem hasn't been their run defense, but if they are able to make the Giants one-dimensional, their Sunday evening will be that much easier. Despite the league's second-worst average of 3.2 yards per carry, the Giants have still run the ball 188 times (13th in the league).

Get off the Field on Third Down

With one of the league's worst third down defenses to this point, it's clear the Patriots don't need to get stops on third down to win games. They have actually had some solid performances this season, but not without circumstance. The Patriots held the Jets 17th-ranked third down offense to just 27.3 percent conversions, and the Cowboys 22nd-ranked third down offense to just 33.3 percent conversions.

The Giants, with 34.8 percent conversions, rank 20th in the NFL.

If the Patriots are able to get stops against a third down offense that has been less imposing than others, they will greatly improve their chances of holding serve at home for the 31st consecutive time in the regular season with Brady under center.

Slow the Giants Pass Rush

Easier said than done. The Giants defense leads the league in sacks with 26 of them. If that weren't enough, New England has had a penchant for allowing pass rushers into the backfield recently, allowing 11 sacks in the past three games.

The problem, Bill Belichick says, is that they can line up all over the field.

"[Giants defensive coordinator] Perry [Fewell] does a good job of scheming and putting them in different positions so you don’t know where Pierre-Paul is going to be or Tuck or Kiwanuka," said Belichick. "Sometimes it is hard to find them and it is hard to block them so they present a huge challenge just in their depth, quality and speed. It is as good of a group as I have seen in a long time."

Dan Connolly will have his hands full for the fourth consecutive game, as it will be up to him to get the protection calls right against a stout front.

Attack the Giants Defense with Interior Running Game

The Giants have been a sieve against the run, with opposing running backs averaging 4.7 yards per carry (26th) and already piling up nine touchdowns against them this season.

Although the Patriots haven't been a dominant rushing team this season, their respectable average of 4.5 yards per carry (12th) has served as a solid complement to their passing game. Their running game currently ranks fourth in Football Outsiders' defense-adjusted value on average, which measures the strength of opponents.

They have also proven they can run the ball against some stout run defenses, including the Cowboys, which hadn't allowed 100 yards rushing at all until facing New England in Week 6.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis was limited in practice after being limited for much of Sunday's game against the Steelers while battling turf toe. Kevin Faulk was useful in spots, but remains a much less traditional option at running back, and 13 of his 32 yards came on a trick play direct snap.

Stevan Ridley is due for more touches, as the rookie running back didn't play a single snap Sunday against the Steelers and has seen his playing time diminish since Week 4 against the Raiders. He has been incredibly effective in his limited work, with 6.4 yards per carry on 28 carries.