EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Wow. Have you caught your breath yet?
If you needed an example of why the NFL continues to hypnotize us each Sunday, it was provided by the New England Patriots and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.
This was a game that grabbed fans from the start and never let go, not until New England’s Stephen Gostkowski cleaved a 54-yard field goal through not only the uprights, but the hearts of Giants fans, with 1 second remaining to keep the Patriots unbeaten with a 27-26 victory.
Even the players sensed this was a special game.
“No question,” said Matthew Slater, New England’s special teams ace who suffered a shoulder injury in the first quarter but returned. “Both teams making plays. The ebbs and flows. It’s tight the whole way, which we expected. That’s a good football team. We sensed we were in the middle of a classic.”
And they sensed it early.
New England took the opening kickoff, ate 8:20 off the clock with 14 plays and got a touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Scott Chandler. New York needed just 51 seconds to respond, as Eli Manning threw an 87-yard touchdown pass to Odell Beckham Jr.
“And we’re off,” said Slater.
“That was quite a game, so many elements to it,” said Patriots Coach Bill Belichick. “Back and forth, offense, defense, special teams, turnovers, big plays, penalties. A whole lot of things.”
Julian Edelman sustained a foot injury in the first half and didn’t return. News reports afterward indicated he has a broken bone in his foot and could be out until the playoffs.
The Patriots struggled without him, falling behind 20-10 early in the third quarter. And then Danny Amendola stepped up. He returned a punt 82 yards – getting textbook blocks from Eric Martin and Nate Ebner – to the New York 7, not scoring only when he was bumped into by teammate Duron Harmon and fell.
Still. Moments later, the Patriots got a touchdown from LeGarrette Blount that made it 20-17. The Patriots eventually took a 24-23 lead when Brady connected with Rob Gronkowski for a stunning 76-yard touchdown, the final 40 yards covered alone after New York defenders Craig Dahl and Brandon Meriweather collided.
New England had a chance to expand the lead when Blount appeared to score a touchdown, but rookie center David Andrews was called for a holding penalty. Then, on second-and-goal from the 5, Brady inconceivably threw an interception. His pass was behind Brandon LaFell, running a slant on the left, and Trumaine McBride made a diving catch at the 1.
“A terrible throw,” said Brady.
That’s where the Giants took over and appeared to drive another stake into the hearts of Patriots fans with a late score. That’s also when Gostkowski started thinking he’d have a chance to win the game.
“I started warming up because if they go down and make a field goal, I’ve got to be ready to go,” he said. “I think if you wait until the last minute, it can sneak up on you. I told Ryan (Allen, his holder), ‘We’re going to get a game-winner, you guys be ready.’ ”
Manning threw an apparent 5-yard touchdown pass to Beckham. But it was overturned, as officials ruled he didn’t maintain possession long enough. Malcolm Butler, last season’s Super Bowl hero, reached in and knocked the ball away before Beckham could complete the catch. It was another huge play by the defense, like Chandler Jones’ strip sack of Manning in the second quarter with the Giants at the New England 16.
Josh Brown kicked a 29-yard field goal with 1:47 remaining and the Giants led 26-24. And Gostkowski was waiting, and singing. Yeah, he sings a song in his head as he prepares “to distract everything else … I just try and get in ultra-focus zone.”
The final drive wasn’t perfect. Brady’s first pass deep to Aaron Dobson should have been intercepted, but Landon Collins dropped it when he hit the ground. Brady hit Amendola – you’re going to hear his name a lot if Edelman is indeed out for a while – for 12 yards on fourth-and-10 from the 20.
That kept the drive going. Gostkowski ended it.
“Stephen hit a true ball,” said Belichick. “We’ve seen so many of those in practice and in games. When it came off his foot you could see that straight end-over-end tumble. It was true. That’s the guy you want out there.”
Only 1 second remained. Patriot fans, who had suffered through three straight last-minute, devastating losses to the Giants, could exhale.
And the Patriots? They’re 9-0. They lost another key component. They struggled at times. But somehow they survived.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to find a way,” said Slater. “It’s not always the way you draw it up. Sometimes you just got to find a way to make a play here, a play there. We were able to do that tonight.”
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