Patriots vs. Giants: 5 Things We Learned about New England in 24-20 Loss

There's no point in comparing this game to Super Bowl XLII.

Sure, the outcome was similar, and sure, the parallels are striking—the Giants defense getting pressure all night, Eli Manning's game-winning drive—but the Patriots are much different now than they were then.

Back then, they were on an unprecedented 18-game winning streak. They had shown their blemishes, but they were unstoppable.

But that doesn't matter. This is 2011, and this Patriots team is very stoppable.

Despite their dissimilarities, they share some commonalities, too. Let's take a look.

Tom Brady Can't Do It All

Ever since lighting up the scoreboard with 514 yards and four touchdowns against the Dolphins, Tom Brady hasn't been his usual self. With eight touchdowns and six picks in the three games the Patriots have lost, it's obvious that Brady is as much at fault for the losses as anything else.

On Sunday, he was dreadful. Two interceptions and a fumble stained his stat line, and two of his turnovers resulted in 10 Giants points—his second interception resulting in the Giants first field goal and first points of the game, and his fumble setting up New York inside the 10.

That being said, there's no other quarterback most people would rather have on their team in the clutch. For the second time this season, Brady proved why when he drove the team to the game winning touchdown in 1:26 and gave the Giants the ball back with just 1:36 to go.

Unlike last time, though, it didn't result in a win. Even in putting the team on his back and carrying them to a win, they still couldn't hold up their end of the bargain. 

Offense Is Becoming an Issue

Tom Brady's not the only one whose stats have taken a hit since this game. In fact, the Patriots as a team have sharply decreased in offensive output across the board since bursting onto the scene with five consecutive games scoring over 30 points in 2011.

This graphical representation of their net yards per play from Yahoo! Sports is also revealing.

This week against the Giants, they netted just 5.8 yards per play. 

Brady's not playing quite as well as he has in the past, but he's also not getting the help around him, either. 

Protection Not What the Patriots Are Used To

The Patriots have faced the Jets, Cowboys, Steelers and Giants in the past four games, giving up 13 sacks in that span. 

It's not hard to tell that pressure was key in today's win for the Giants. They sacked Brady twice, forced two interceptions and played well enough to hold the Patriots scoreless in the first half—an accomplishment they should have been very proud of, despite the scoreless tie.

Perhaps the loss of Dan Koppen is hurting more than everyone thought it would from the beginning. Connolly has been effective, but he has also had a mountainous task in front of him over the past four games.

Logan Mankins, however, has also been less productive this year. According to Pro Football Focus, he grades out as the 18th-ranked guard in the game despite having played at a top-five level for years. Part of that falls on his penalties, but he's also getting beat by pass rushers a bit more frequently than before.

What the Problem Is on Defense

The question has been posed, what's the problem on defense? Is it the scheme, is it execution, is is personnel or something else? I think we have our answer. It's a little bit of all three, but more the last two than anything else.

For three quarters, the Patriots defense did their job and held the Giants to 10 points, but let up 14 fourth quarter points to give up the game, including a touchdown in the game's final 1:36. 

Execution was great all the way up to the most critical point in the game, and that's where the personnel comes in.

With the game on the line, the Patriots fielded a group of unheralded guys who they were hoping and expecting could make the plays they needed to. Ultimately, an egregious pass interference on Sergio Brown cost the Patriots 40 yards and put the Giants at the 1-yard line and set up the game-winning touchdown.

It was on a 3rd-and-goal from the one where the Patriots were most at fault. Rather than even try to cover Jake Ballard in the left corner of the end zone, two defenders simply grazed by him in a feeble attempt to get him off his route before letting him walk free in the end zone and make the easy catch.

Those are the spots you'd love to be able to turn to a group of guys who have done this several times in clutch situations. But these guys haven't had the chance to because of their offense. It's hard to put the players at fault instead of the people who picked those players.

At the same time, the switch to the 4-3 front is a bit overblown from this perspective. Typically, 4-3 techniques are more familiar for players because they're the ones that have been taught to them since a young age.

This Team Is Not Done (Yet)

Many franchises would kill for a 5-3 record right now, and for some who have that record (see Bills and Bengals), it's a pleasant surprise. For the Patriots, 5-3 with two consecutive losses feels like the sky is falling.

It's even begun to stir questions of whether this team will make the playoffs, a question that would have been shrugged off as absurd in the preseason, and even just three weeks ago when the Patriots were 5-1 and sitting pretty atop the AFC totem pole.

But all is not lost for this team. They head into a big divisional matchup against the 5-3 Jets next Sunday at MetLife Stadium, where they haven't won since it was built. The Jets are also coming off a statement win over the Bills. Not exactly the telltale signs of a Patriots win, but this season has been very unpredictable, and New England could regroup and pull off a big win to regain control of the division.

The Patriots got three quarters of good play out of their defense and one good quarter out of their offense. They have shown glimpses of being a great team, with Brady's comeback drives and the defense showing flashes of brilliance among their bad play.

They just need to put it all together. The question now, though, is no long when they will, but if they can. And then, whether they can keep it all together for three or four games in January and February (if they make it that far). 

I guess we'll be learning a lot more than five things about this team between now and the end of the season.

Erik Frenz is the co-host of the PatsPropaganda and Frenz podcast. Follow Erik on Twitter @ErikFrenz.