Dion Lewis has torn left ACL, will miss remainder of season

Another week, another New England Patriots win, and another touchdown for Julian Edelman. There’s been plenty of bandwidth reserved for chronicling the deficiencies in the Giants, spinning Sunday’s meeting as less than a fair fight. The Giants haven’t been able to stop top-level quarterbacks such as Brees, Tony Romo or Matt Ryan when it has mattered, and the way Brady is playing right now, I have to think a victory here would be Coughlin’s most unlikely Patriots-related trick yet. This was supposed to be a run-first team, but has morphed into a run-least team.

The Patriots still rushed for 161 yards (4.4 avg) and Brady was not sacked while completing 26 of 39 passes for 299 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

The Patriots were moving again when Edelman fumbled.

Of course, this does not have the feel of a battle of first-place teams, even if that is precisely what the National Football League standings declare it to be.

Like: Fast start. The Patriots jumped out to a 14-0 lead before the Redskins could snap the ball twice. 500 and in playoff contention.

SUPER RIVALRY It’s the undefeated and Super Bowl champion Patriots. Thing is, beyond Beckham and Eli Manning, this isn’t an offense loaded with playmakers.

He’s not the flashiest receiver and his yards per catch average won’t blow you away, but he’s gritty and sure-handed, and always knows precisely where the first down marker is. “The history doesn’t affect the outcome”.

Jason Pierre-Paul returned to the Giants defensive line on Sunday and is looking to spark the squad.

Aside from having Tom Brady perform the coin toss as he did before Super Bowl XL, the Patriots may have figured out the ideal strategy to combat the potential of losing the opening flip. Now, if the Giants pull out a win against the Patriots, we might be having a different conversation next week, but if they are 5-5 going into their bye week, all bets are off. He’s not known as a home run hitter, and he doesn’t have to be with how New England looks to move the ball. The current Patriots are a pristine 8-0 and the current Giants are a gritty 5-4. But this season is about a lot more than beating Washington. The 5-foot-11, 220-pound Bolden isn’t as quick and shifty as Lewis and White, but he has experience in the system, is a capable pass-protector, and has solid hands as evidenced by his 18-yard touchdown catch Sunday.

“It’s just an interesting fraternity, I guess you could say, because while, technically, I guess we’re both part of that fraternity, he’s started for 15 years and has four rings and played in six Super Bowls, and I’ve started for one [season] and not near the level of a quarterback that he obviously is”, Cousins said during his weekly radio appearance with 106.7 The Fan’s Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier. “The last four we’ve played against them have come down to the final drive”.

“And a lot of guys scrambled to figure out exactly what we’re going to do”, said Brady. “Hopefully we can keep it tight and win it in the end”.