New England Patriots - NESN.com
The Patriots will host the New York Giants on Monday Night Football, and it could be a good matchup for New England.
New York currently holds a 2-10 record, and one of the main reasons for its struggle to secure victories is its weak run defense.
On Thursday, ESPN’s Aaron Schatz pointed out that New York’s rush defense ranks second-worst through 12 games since 1978.
“This one is a throwback to my look at early-season trends after Week 4. At that point, the Giants had the third-worst run defense ever tracked through four games,” Schatz wrote. “They’ve been up and down since then, but they gave up 219 yards and two touchdowns to Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs on just 15 carries in Week 12.
“That performance means they are now the worst run defense tracked by defense-adjusted value over average through 12 games in over 45 years and the second worst in the history of the database.”
The Giants are allowing a league-worst 157.2 rushing yards per game this season, and New England should be able to take advantage of this with rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson, who performed well over the past five games. Additionally, quarterback Drake Maye can gain yards with his legs, further adding to the Patriots’ offensive options.
