Jason Leach
The New England Patriots will travel to East Rutherford, New Jersey to take on the New York Giants Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
This will be the 12th regular season matchup between these two teams, with the Patriots holding a 7-4 edge. But this rivalry will always be remembered for their two legendary meetings in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI which the Giants were victories.
Coming into Sunday’s matchup the Giants (3-8) and Patriots (2-8) have scored the fewest points in the league, and both teams seem poised to have a top-five pick in the NFL Draft in April.
Although this game might lack nationwide intrigue, here are four bold predictions for Sunday’s game.
Tommy DeVito will throw for over 300 yards for New York Giants
New York’s undrafted rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito has steadily improved since he took over for the injured Tyrod Taylor. Last week in the win at Washington, DeVito had the best game of his young career completing 18 out of 26 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns.
Now he’s preparing to make his first start at home with a ton of his family and friends in attendance.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun. Imagine it’s going to be like the last two games, but a little more of my friends and family there,” DeVito said about playing on Sunday. “That’s really about it. It’s a little tougher to play away, in an away atmosphere. So, it’ll be home, I’ll be comfortable, it’ll be a lot of fun.”
Historically, Patriots coach Bill Belichick has had tremendous success in confusing and overwhelming rookie quarterbacks. But on Sunday, DeVito will shock the football world as he’ll throw for over 300 yards against Belichick’s defense.
Rhamondre Stevenson will rush for 100 yards, score two TDs
New England’s most versatile offensive player is running back Rhamondre Stevenson. But with the arrival of Ezekiel Elliott just before the start of the season, some feel the 25-year-old Stevenson has been under-utilized this season after rushing for 1,040 last season while averaging five yards per carry.
For the season, he’s carried the ball 126 times for 482 yards and three touchdowns. However, he has yet to have over 20 carries in a game or have 100 yards rushing.
There have been questions this week on who will start at quarterback for the Patriots, Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe. So look for Stevenson to have a busy day on Sunday against the Giants run defense that’s allowing 155 yards on the ground over the last three games. Look for Stevenson to have his first 100-rushing-yard game of the season and to score two touchdowns.
Kayvon Thibodeaux will tie a career-high with three sacks
One of the bright spots in New York’s disappointing season has been the play of their second-year edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux. He has 10½ sacks, which is currently tied for sixth-most in the league, and has recorded 6½ sacks in the last four games.
New England has been one of the better teams in the NFL at keeping their quarterbacks upright as they’ve allowed just 23 sacks on the season. But they’ll have a hard time dealing with Thibodeaux as he will tie a career-high in sacks with three.
New England Patriots will try a trick play on special teams
With New England averaging just 14 points per game and the uncertainty surrounding their starting quarterback, expect Belichick to try a trick play on special teams to give his team a boost.
Often in a game between two evenly-matchup teams, whoever performs better on special teams significantly increases their chances of winning. Look for the Patriots to go for a fake punt or field goal attempt to try to catch New York off guard for a momentum-changing play.
Prediction: With the improved play of DeVito and with Saquon Barkley averaging over five yards per carry over the last three games, the Giants offense will score enough points to win their second game in a row. Giants 24, Patriots 17.
