he ball away for a full game.Buffalo failed to reach the end zoneYes, the Bills have one of the worst offenses in the NFL. And y

The New England Patriots were able to enjoy a quiet weekend thanks to a 35-14 victory over the New York Giants last Thursday night — a game that saw the home team start slowly on offense yet again Youth Chase Winovich Jersey , with the defense and special teams keeping the opponent at check. In the end, however, the Patriots pulled away once more to secure their sixth win in as many games so far this season.With that all being said, let’s now dig a little deeper and analyze some of the advanced statistics to come out of Thursday’s game.Pass distributionNFL Next Gen StatsWith the exception of a 64-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate who was almost perfectly covered by Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was unable to do much damage against New England’s secondary. The team took away his deep options, and forced the first-round rookie to drive the offense down the field by stringing short gains together on a consistent basis. He could not do it.With the exception of an interception that was intended for Julian Edelman, Tom Brady played a solid game. He targeted numerous areas of the field and was generally accurate while doing so, and spread the football around well. His final passer rating of 88.9 might not be outstanding, but his contributions to the Patriots’ victory — from his two rushing touchdowns to his ability to captain the offense despite injuries striking hard — go beyond the numbers.Offensive rush directionNFL Next Gen StatsOn the day, the Patriots handed the football off 32 times for a combined 114 yards. The average gain of 3.6 yards is not particularly encouraging, with the inconsistent blocking up front and injuries suffered by fullback Jakob Johnson and tight end Matt LaCosse playing a role in it. However, the approach did help the Patriots dominate time of possession and limit New York’s opportunities — which in turn played into the hands of the defense.Pass receivingPass receiving statisticsPlayerSnapsTargetsCompletionsYardsYards after CatchTouchdownsInterceptionsRatingDropsPlayerSnapsTargetsCompletionsYardsYards after CatchTouchdownsInterceptionsRatingDropsNFL/Pro Football FocusJosh Gordon hurting his knee late in the second quarter had a major impact on the Patriots’ passing game, as only two of Tom Brady’s primary weapons remained available — and they saw the majority of the targets: wide receiver Julian Edelman saw a team-high 15 passes headed his way, running back James White nine. While the other players saw irregular action compared to the two veterans Womens Chase Winovich Jersey , they did make plays with undrafted rookie Jakobi Meyers standing out in particular. He had a solid day as the third and later second wideout.Receiver separationNFL Next Gen StatsWith the Patriots playing some tight coverage in the secondary, Daniel Jones was forced to take his chances with passes into tight windows: his top three targets — Golden Tate, Darius Slayton and Rhett Ellison — were open by just 1.65 yards per average target. Tom Brady, for comparison, did not play that risky a game and generally only targeted players when they were at least somewhat open.Pass protectionPass protection statisticsPlayerSnapsSacksQB HitsHurriesPlayerSnapsSacksQB HitsHurriestwitter.com/jeffphoweOne week after allowing Brady to be sacked four times, the Patriots surrendered another three takedowns. All in all, the 42-year-old was pressured on just eight of his 44 drop-backs, though, for a rather solid rate of 18.2%. One of the pressures, however, was a sack surrendered by tight end Ryan Izzo that knocked the football out of the quarterback’s hands and was ultimately returned by the Giants for a game-tying touchdown.Pass rush/run defensePass rush/run defense statisticsPlayerSnapsSacksQB HitsHurriesRun stopsPlayerSnapsSacksQB HitsHurriesRun stopstwitter.com/jeffphoweNew England’s defense entered the game leading the NFL in sacks. However, the unit registered only one against the Giants: linebacker Kyle Van Noy pushed Daniel Jones out of bounds on a perimeter scramble attempt. Despite the lack of sacks, the Patriots still were able to make life hard for the rookie on a consistent basis — not just by playing tight coverage in the backend. On the day, the defense registered 15 pressures for a rate of 46.9%.Defensive rush directionNFL Next Gen StatsThe Patriots’ defensive approach was a simple one: let the rookie beat them with his right arm. New England had to effectively shut down the run as part of this plan Authentic Chase Winovich Jersey , and the team did just that as the Giants combined to gain only 52 yards on 16 carries — with two of them for eight yards coming from Daniel Jones himself. Jon Hilliman and Elijhaa Penny, meanwhile, were unable to kickstart an offense that struggled moving the football through the air.Pass rush separationNFL Next Gen StatsTheir overall record and defensive statistics may not reflect it, but the Giants do have some considerable talent in their defensive front seven — something the Patriots found out on Thursday. Led by Lorenzo Carter and Dexter Lawrence, the unit was able to get close to Brady in pass rushing situations. While New England’s offensive line did a mostly solid job of keeping pressure away from the quarterback, New York did win its fair share of matchups.The Patriots, on the other hand, did not get as consistently close to the opposing passer but — as noted above — did still pressure him on numerous occasions. Part of this may have been the game plan, with Jones being a serious threat as a runner that needed to be contained more than straight-up pressured. This approach, of course, is nothing new as New England used in numerous times in the past (e.g. on Russell Wilson in Super Bowl 49).Pass coveragePass coverage statisticsPlayerSnapsTargetsCompletionsYardsTouchdownsInterceptionsRatingPass BreakupsPlayerSnapsTargetsCompletionsYardsTouchdownsInterceptionsRatingPass Breakupstwitter.com/jeffphoweWhile Jonathan Jones did surrender the aforementioned long touchdown pass to Golden Tate — the first aerial score against New England’s defense all year long — the unit as a whole played another very good game. Led by Stephon Gilmore’s outstanding performance, the Patriots were able to limit Jones’ options and force the quarterback to make risky throws. When all was said and done, the home team finished the game with three interceptions. The New England Patriots may not have enjoyed the flashiest of victories against the Buffalo Bills on Monday, but at the end of the day they still defeated a division rival on the road by three scores. The 25-6 victory wrote plenty of stories – from the defense playing one of its best games of the year to Josh Gordon not seeing his snap count reduced for disciplinary reasons – what is arguably most encouraging is the team accomplishing some season firsts along the way.The Patriots did not give the ball awaySo far this season Chase Winovich Jersey Boys , the Patriots have been uncharacteristically sloppy when it comes to ball security: the team’s offense and special teams units turned the football over a combined 13 times through their first seven games – the most for a Bill Belichick-coached team since 2004. And while one game is not enough to proclaim that New England has officially turned the corner, it still is encouraging to see the team finally not give the ball away for a full game.Buffalo failed to reach the end zoneYes, the Bills have one of the worst offenses in the NFL. And yes, New England played against a third-string quarterback. But you can only play who you line up against, and versus the group Buffalo fielded yesterday, the Patriots defense did its job very well. While the home team was able to gain 333 yards of offense, it failed to reach the end zone even once and had to settle for two field goals – the first time all season that an opponent did not score a touchdown against Brian Flores’ unit. Furthermore, New England’s defense allowed just 4 of 14 third down attempts to be converted and also registered two takeaways. Devin McCourty’s interception broke a 40-game streakThe second of the team’s defensive turnovers was a 84-yard pick-six: safety Devin McCourty read quarterback Derek Anderson perfectly, undercut the pass, and returned the interception to the end zone to ice the game in New England’s favor. Not only was it the Patriots’ first defensive score of the season, it also broke a 40-game drought – the longest in the NFL – and served as the icing on the cake that was yesterday’s performance.While not all worked well yesterday – just look at the running game’s ineffectiveness, or the continued inconsistency on special teams – the Patriots are still trending in the right direction in some areas. All that needs to be done now and heading into the bye week a little further down the line is build on those developments. Monday night was a first step.