Patriots-Giants Live Blog: NY Wins 6-3
Final: New York Giants 6-3: No, this wasn't a Red Sox-Yankees game. Those games would have a higher score.
The good news is: it's over. Not just this game, but the preseason. From here on out, everything matters.
The Patriots had a chance to at least tie it at the end of regulation, with Brian Hoyer driving them down the field. He completed a nice pass to Jeremy Ebert for 18 yards over the middle to get to the New England 42, and then bought some time and hit Eric Kettani for 13 yards to NY 40.
But Hoyer went deep on the next throw, and there was a bit of miscommunication somewhere. Hoyer thought Jesse Holley was going deep, and Holley thought he was pulling up in his route. Hoyer went long, and hit Giants defensive back Deron Scott
Giants got the ball at their one-yard line, and killed the clock to claim the 6-3 victory.
No game tying field goal attempt for Gostkowski in this one, but a few Patriots made their case to make the team.
Brandon Bolden was the feature back for the first half, and finished with 59 yards on 15 carries. On the defensive side of the ball, Jermaine Cunningham tallied a pair of sacks and three tackles. If they were on the bubble heading in, they should be off it now.
It will be interesting to see what Bill Belichick and his staff thought though. Anything can happen come cut day on Friday.
4th Quarter, 1:03 - Giants 6-3: The Giants don't do much, but they do just enough to eat some clock and get a 32-yard field goal from Lawrence Tynes.
The Patriots will have a minute to march down the field and put the ball in the end zone. Forget the field goal, go for the win.
4th Quarter, 2:00 - 3-3: The Patriots get just one play on their drive following a good defense stand, and it's Brian Hoyer getting sacked for the fifth Giants' sack on the night.
Giants' defensive lineman Marcus Thomas came up with the ball and then fumbled it himself on the return. He was able to recover it though at the New England 17, setting the Giants up nicely for an end-of-game field goal attempt.
4th Quarter, 2:50 - 3-3: More pressure from Cunningham, as he nearly gets Carr again -- who threw the ball away just in time.
It brought up a 4th-and-22 and Jeff Demps makes a 17-yard return to set the Patriots up at their own 36. Demps was slow to get up, and was being looked at on the sideline. We'll have to keep an eye on that.
4th Quarter, 6:05 - 3-3: Jesse Holley just made a spectacular one-handed grab on the sideline, but didn't get both feet in bounds -- or so it appeared.
On a closer review, Holley did get both feet in (at least that's how it looked), but Bill Belichick's red challenge flag didn't come out quick enough and there was no review.
It was an amazing catch though, as Hoyer's throw was high and Holley had a defender on him. One of the lone offensive highlights of the night for the Patriots.
4th Quarter, 7:09 - 3-3: Another solid stand by the Patriots defense, forcing another three-and-out.
Rookie Alfonzo Dennard stripped the ball from Carr, which was eventually recovered by the Giants at their own one-yard line.
On 3rd-and-15, Mike Rivera made a nice stop on Adrian Robinson to force a punt.
Now we'll see if the offense can do anything starting on their own 46-yard line. It's hard not to like overtime football, but please no overtime. Not this game.
4th Quarter, 8:30 - 3-3: The Patriots hold on to the ball for five minutes, but get nothing to show for it. There were a few nice plays in the 11-play drive though.
Recently signed receiver Kerry Taylor made a really nice 15-yard grab on third-and-10 with defender ready to lay a big hit on him. Taylor has a pair of catches for 20 yards.
There was also a nice touch pass by Hoyer to Demps over a trailing linebacker. Demps did his thing and ended up with a 23-yard gain on the 3rd-and-4 play.
Mesko with a nice boot down to the Giants six-yard line. Please, no overtime tonight...
4th Quarter, 13:59 - 3-3: On third down, the Patriots get some pressure on Carr and he falls for a gain of one. Jermaine Cunningham was eyeing his third sack on the play.
Rookie Jake Bequette was in on the pressure. He and fellow rookie defensive end Justin Francis are having strong showings here in the final preseason game. We'll see if it's enough to make the team, or practice squad at least.
End 3rd Quarter - 3-3: Giants just got 25 yards off a broken play in which the Patriots nearly had David Carr sacked. He was rushed from all over, but was able to escape and hit receiver Jerrell Jernigan for 25 yards.
It was a sloppy play, and Bill Belichick was not happy at the result.
The Giants may be moving the ball, but at least the clock is moving too. This one is UGLY.
Ref Don King just announced it was the end of the first quarter. It's one of those nights...
3rd Quarter, 5:59, 3-3: Brian Hoyer is in the game for New England. After completing a seven yard pass to Jeff Demps for a first down, Hoyer went down by way of a sack -- New York's third of the night. Rookie guard Derek Dennis out of Temple was responsible for the latest hit on a Pats' QB.
The Pats were forced to punt a play later.
3rd Quarter, 7:40 - 3-3: The Patriots were torn to shreds over the middle on the Giants first drive of the second half, but only gave up a field goal.
New York's Andre Brown did his best Brandon Bolden impression to start the half, rushing for 52 yards on nine carries. He also caught a pass for nine yards.
But the Pats benefited from an offensive hold on the Giants. Jermaine Cunningham was held rushing towards Carr, and instead of first-and-goal for the Giants it brought up a 3rd-and-14 and after Brown's nine-yard catch-and-run had to settle for a field goal.
The Giants 13 play drive covered 64 yards in 7:20. The secondary didn't look great, especially on passes over the middle.
Niko Koutouvides was being looked at on the sideline after making four stops on the drive. He has eight total tackles for the game.
Halftime - Patriots 3-0: The Patriots end the half with a sack by Cunningham, his second of the evening. Trevor Scott also had a nice sack on David Carr a few plays earlier.
The half belonged to Brandon Bolden, who ran for 59 yards on 15 carries. He broke a couple nice runs, and is making his case for a roster spot.
Ryan Mallett finished with half 8-for-15 for 40 yards. Nothing spectacular from the second-year playcaller, and we'll likely see Brian Hoyer in the second half.
2nd Quarter, :58, Patriots 3-0: The Patriots punted, but got the ball right back thanks to Da'Rel Scott of the Giants running into Zoltan Mesko. But the Patriots didn't do much with their second life and were forced to punt. This time no one ran into Mesko.
Receiver Jesse Holley isn't having a good game, dropping everything he manages to get his hands on. His most recent came on a 3rd-and-six that would have kept a drive alive.
2nd Quarter, 1:11 - Patriots 3-0: The Patriots will be forced to punt after Ryan Mallett was sacked for a six-yard loss on second down. Bolden picked up 10 yards on 3rd-and-13, but it wasn't enough.
But that's one of the few times we've had to point out the offensive line, so that's a plus.
2nd Quarter, 5:57 - Patriots 3-0: Bolden muffs a punt, but Demps is there to fall on it before anyone from New York can get there. Even when he doesn't run them back, Demps does something well on special teams.
2nd Quarter, 6:08 - Patriots 3-0: The replacement refs are having some trouble on a pair of fouls on a kickoff. At first it was a penalty on both teams, and now they're both on the Giants. Belichick argued vehemently -- and it looks like he was right.
This should make for an interesting start to the season since it looks like the replacement refs will still be making the calls at that point.
2nd Quarter, 6:59 - Patriots 3,0: That looks to be it for Eli Manning, who went 4-for-8 for 29 yards.
2nd Quarter, 8:22 - Patriots 3-0: The Patriots get on the board thanks to a 20-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski.
The Patriots benefited from a 15-yard facemask on a 3rd-and-six run by Bolden that only picked up about three yards.
With the extra life, the Patriots pounded the ball with Demps and Kettani. Kettani picked up another first down with a 3rd-and-one run as the fullback to put the ball on the New York 10. New England followed that with three up-the-gut runs by Bolden (his 9th, 10th and 11th carries) but he could only manage 8 yards and the Pats settled for three points.
Bolden is up to 40 yards on his 11 carries, with another six yards on two receptions.
2nd Quarter, 13:20 - 0-0: Giants started at their own eight-yard line thanks to a beautiful 50 yard punt by Zoltan Mesko, and the Patriots forced a three-and-out.
The defense kept Eli Manning from completing anything on his two throws in the series, with Tavon Wilson and Nate Ebner making nice plays on the ball. Manning also felt the pressure on both plays. Ebner nearly had up his second pick of the preseason on his play.
Neither offense has much going for them, as both defenses are playing well.
End of 1st Quarter; 0-0: All goose eggs across the board as the first quarter comes to an end.
As far as fourth preseason games go, this one is right on par with the rest: plenty of backups and players fighting for a job.
Brandon Bolden is making a nice case for a roster spot with 29 yards on seven carries.
1st Quarter, 3:48 - 0-0: The Patriots picked up a couple first downs after failing to get one their first two offensive trips on the field. Brandon Bolden had a pair of nice runs, picking up seven yards on the first play of the drive and another 15 on a nice third down run to the right. He finished with 24 yards on the drive, but the Patriots were forced to punt.
Marcus Cannon was called for a hold on a 2nd-and-10, with the Pats punting away the next play.
A guy we haven't heard too much of is safety Sergio Brown, but he made some noise with a nice tackle on Jerrel Jernigan on the punt coverage. Those are the plays that help bubble players make the team.
1st Quarter, 6:36 - 0-0: Jermaine Cunningham came up with a huge third dock sack on Manning, resulting in a loss of 14 yards. Cunningham went bursting through the line and fought off the lineman, who was grabbing him, to make the sack.
Cunningham looked great against the Eagles, but not so much against the Bucs. A big game tonight would be a great boost of confidence for both the Patriots and Cunningham.
1st Quarter, 9:30 - 0-0: Another three-and-out for the Patriots on their second possession. Brandon Bolden's number was called twice on the series, one run and a short pass, but it didn't result in any yards. It wasn't a great pass from Mallett that resulted in a one-yard loss.
1st Quarter, 1st Quarter, 13:40 - 0-0: Both teams went three-and-out on their first possession.
Defensive lineman Ron Brace had a few good plays on New England's first defensive stance. He was in on the tackle of Giants' running back David Wilson on 2nd-and-5 and then forced him to the outside on third down, which resulted in a two-yard loss on a tackle by linebackers Niko Koutouvides and Mike Rivera.
Pregame 7:02p.m.: Tom Brady was in uniform for pregame, but it looks like he will take a seat for this one. Ryan Mallett will get the start as he looks to build off a strong preseason thus far.
Sebastian Vollmer was the only true starter in the lineup, which is a good sign for the right tackle that missed all three games prior to tonight and the majority of last season with a back injury. Here is the rest of
BOSTON (CBS) - The New England Patriots' preseason will come to a close Wednesday night as they take on the New York Giants in their fourth and final game that doesn't count.
Sure, the game won't bring the headlines of these two teams' last meeting, but football is still football. There is still plenty to watch with players fighting for jobs as final roster cuts come on Friday.
Stick with CBSBostonsports.com's live game blog throughout the game for all the updates and analysis of the... big game.
