The idea that the Patriots' defense was bailing out its offense last week against Pittsburgh was a bit hard to swallow when they forced not a single punt until the very end of the game.
Through one quarter against the Giants, however, it's abundantly clear that this is the case. A surprisingly strong defensive effort has held New York off the board on their first three drives, while Tom Brady and the offense have only been able to grab a few first downs.
After a quick 14-yard completion to Mario Manningham to open up the game, a couple of dropped passes (credit to big hits and strong pressure from the defense) left the Giants forced to punt it away. 18 big yards from BenJarvus Green Ellis proved enough to give Tom Brady some space behind him on the ensuing drive, but a pass to Aaron Hernandez came up a yard short of the first and the Giants found themselves right back where they started around the 20-yard line.
It was Brandon Spikes who put an exclamation mark on the second defensive stop of the game for the Patriots, reciprocating the Giants' holding the Patriots one yard short by leveling Jake Ballard on third down with a huge hit after a short pass brought him within feet of the first. The Patriots could do nothing with their next possession, however, with some very questionable play calling including a draw for Danny Woodhead on 3rd-and-1 leaving them again empty-handed.