Quote:
Originally Posted by Beemnseven
Well, the secret is out on how to beat the Patriots. Get in Brady's face.
Look for every other team in the AFC East to put a new emphasis on their pass rush.
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That was a secret?
Seriously though, the Giants smothered the pass impressively from a secondary standpoint also.
This wasn't the first time that someone did this to the Pats this year, but it is the first time someone was able to avoid the inevitable for 60 minutes. By shortening the game and running the clock, the Giants were able to keep the score low. Because of that, scoring 14 points in the 4th quarter made all the difference.
If the game was 35-32, 14 points in the fourth quarter likely doesn't make a difference, even if the defense had played relatively well.
For the Pats, this only shows how much of a struggle it will be to get to 19-0. No team, no matter how dominant, will go for an indefinite amount of games undefeated. Not the '72 Dolphins and not this Pats team. The Dolphins almost met their match in their 17th game, and the Pats outlasted that. Unfortunately for them, this wasn't double jeporady, it was 19-times jeporady, and in that case, 18 wins and 1 loss earns you second place.