The New York Giants (3-8) play host to the New England Patriots (2-8) this Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium in a Week 12 matchup between two of the league’s most storied franchises.
Here are five things to know before kickoff on Sunday.
The series
Sunday’s game will be the 12th regular-season matchup between the Giants and Patriots since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger.
New England leads the series, 7-4. The teams have met twice in the postseason, with the Giants winning both — Super Bowl XLII (17-14) and Super Bowl XLVI (21-17).
The Pats have won the last two meetings, 35-14 in 2019 at Gillette Stadium and 27-26 at MetLife Stadium in 2015.
The state of the Patriots
The Patriots are 2-8 on the season and are coming off their bye. Before the break, they had lost three straight and six of their last seven.
If the NFL draft were held today, the Patriots would select third overall.
Their two wins this season were against division rivals — a 15-10 Week 3 victory over the Jets at MetLife and a home upset of the Buffalo Bills in Week 7.
They are next to last in scoring in the NFL (14.1 points per game) behind only the Giants (13.5) and seem to be moving off quarterback Mac Jones.
At present time, head coach Bill Belichick was non-committal on who the Patriots would be starting at quarterback this week.
The state of the Giants
The Giants broke a three-game losing streak in Week 11 with a 31-19 road victory over the Washington Commanders. The 31-point output matched their season-high from Week 2 in their comeback win over the Cardinals in Arizona.
Still, they are the lowest-scoring team in the NFL (13.5 points per game) are are last in yards gained per game (262.2).
They currently hold the fifth overall selection in next year’s NFL draft.
The Giants rushed for 91 yards last week in Washington and have rushed for over 100 yards in eight of their 11 games this year.
Common bonds
Belichick famously ‘made his bones’ as an assistant in the 1980s for the Giants, mainly as the defensive coordinator under Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, winning two Super Bowls.
Patriots assistant head coach Joe Judge was the Giants’ head coach from 2020-2021.
Giants head coach Brian Daboll was a long-time assistant for the Patriots under Belichick on and off for the last two decades: Defensive assistant (2000-01), wide receivers (2002-06), offensive coaching assistant (2013), tight ends (2014-16).
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson both played for the Patriots, and defensive line coach Andre Patterson served as an assistant coach under Pete Carroll.
Belichick by the numbers
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick could be coaching his last season in Foxborough. Up until this season, it has gone swimmingly well. Here’s how well…
Belichick’s 331 wins (regular season and playoffs combined) are second among all-time NFL head coaches, and he needs just 17 more wins to pass Hall of Famer Don Shula (347).
Super Bowl LIII was Belichick’s 12th Super Bowl overall, including nine as a head coach and three as an assistant coach. He has a record six Super Bowl rings as a head coach.
Belichick has led the Pats to four 500-point seasons, seven 13-win seasons, and nine conference championships — all NFL highs.
Belichick has led the Patriots to 19 straight seasons with a winning record (2001-19), which is second all-time behind Dallas’ Tom Landry, who accomplished the feat 20 straight seasons from 1966-85.
He has the most postseason victories by an NFL coach — both as a head coach and as an assistant — with 31. Landry is second with 20 postseason wins.
Belichick has won at least one game in 50 different NFL stadiums, including the postseason. The only two current NFL stadiums where he hasn’t recorded a win are Allegiant Stadium and U.S. Bank Stadium. Current Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is second with wins in 44 different stadiums.
