5 Giants players to watch for in Sunday’s Patriots game
The Giants enter Sunday's game in a similar spot as the Patriots, but they have a few standouts on their roster.
The Patriots might have their easiest opponent of the 2023 season Sunday when they take on the 3-8 Giants and their third-string quarterback.
But the Giants aren’t completely dearth of talent, having a few standouts that helped them make the playoffs last season. The 2-8 Patriots obviously have their own issues to figure out as well, as their starting quarterback for Sunday’s game is still unknown.
As the Patriots leave a big question bout themselves unanswered, here are five Giants players to watch for Sunday’s game.
Tommy DeVito
The undrafted rookie, and everyone’s new favorite Italian, is a bit of a wild card entering Sunday’s game.
The Giants didn’t seem too willing to throw the ball downfield in DeVito’s first two appearances, opting to run the ball a good amount despite being in must-pass situations in their overtime loss to the Jets and in blowout losses to the Raiders and Cowboys.
But DeVito took a notable step forward last week, completing 18 of 26 passes for 246 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions against the Commanders. He did get sacked nine times, which is an alarming number considering Washington traded its top two edge rushers (Montez Sweat and Chase Young) weeks ago. However, DeVito’s performance last Sunday likely caused the Patriots to not be considered even bigger favorites to win in Week 12.
For years, feasting on rookie quarterbacks (as well as backup and perceived less talented quarterbacks) was a calling card for Bill Belichick’s defenses. They haven’t faced a rookie quarterback, but have had two cracks at backup quarterbacks this season. They played well in both, with Zach Wilson completing 18 of 36 passes for 157 yards in the Patriots’ Week 3 win over the Jets and Gardner Minshew throwing for 194 yards and an interception in the Patriots’ 10-6 loss to the Colts.
The Patriots’ offense will obviously need to play better than it has recently if it wants to win, regardless of how well the defense plays. But if Belichick can continue his trend of feasting on lesser-than quarterbacks, the margin for error for the offense becomes a lot larger.
Saquon Barkley
It’s rare to see a running back be the nucleus of their team’s offense in 2023. Barkley is one of the few cases, if not the only case.
Barkley’s responsible for 813 of the Giants’ 2,884 yards of total offense this season, despite missing three games earlier in the year. He’s continued to be strong as a dual-threat back as well. He’s rushed for 651 yards (ninth in the league) on 4.3 yards per carry with a rushing touchdown.
While Barkley has rushed for just one touchdown, he’s found the end zone in other ways this season, recording four receiving touchdowns. He’s responsible for five of the Giants’ 14 offensive touchdowns this season as he also has 27 receptions for 162 yards.
The Giants might need to rely more on Barkley the receiver than Barkley the running back Sunday. The Patriots rank second in the league in rushing yards per carry allowed (3.4), giving top-end running backs such as Jonathan Taylor, Breece Hall, and Josh Jacobs troubles this season.
Kayvon Thibodeaux
With Dexter Lawrence likely to miss Sunday’s game, the onus of getting to whoever the Patriots play at quarterback will fall on Thibodeaux.
The second-year star has shown he can live up to the calling this season. He has 10.5 sacks already this year, which is tied for the sixth-most in the league this season. He also has 31 combined tackles and 10 tackles for loss, adding 32 pressures and 20 run stops, per Pro Football Focus.
Thibodeaux had one of his best games of the season against the Commanders last week, recording two sacks and five total tackles with eight pressures and a 19.5 percent pressure rate, per PFF.
The Patriots’ offensive line has been a bit better recently, but the group’s still struggled in pass protection. They allowed five first-half sacks against the Colts in Week 10. Thiobdeaux does most of his work opposite of the opposing team’s left tackle, so Trent Brown’s status for Sunday’s game will certainly be big. He’s missed the last two games due to an ankle injury, causing Conor McDermott to start.
Bobby Okereke
Some Patriots fans might recognize the linebacker’s name. If you do, it’s likely because of the standout performance he had against New England during his time in Indianapolis in 2021.
Okereke recorded three tackles but had a key interception of Jones in that game, picking the Patriots’ quarterback off on a diving grab as part of the Colts’ win that day. He was just as impactful in last year’s Colts-Patriots matchup, recording four tackles and a forced fumble with a recovery, though Indianapolis lost that game.
But the talented linebacker has successfully taken his strong play from Indianapolis to East Rutherford this season. He has 105 combined tackles after recording 151 combined tackles last year, adding in four forced fumbles, 39 run stops, and an interception so far in 2023.
Okereke was a one-man show in the Giants’ game against the Bills in Week 6, recording 11 combined tackles, a forced fumble, and tipping a pass for an interception to nearly lead New York to an upset road win. He also had nine total tackles with three going for a loss against the Jets earlier this season, so it seems Okereke plays well against the AFC East, for some reason.
Xavier McKinney
The Giants’ defense isn’t very good, ranking 28th in total defense and scoring so far this season. But they’ve got some standouts at all three levels.
McKinney is the leader of New York’s secondary as the fourth-year safety’s recorded 76 combined tackles with a forced fumble and fumble recovery this season.
Even though the free safety hasn’t recorded an interception this season, McKinney has been strong in pass coverage. He’s allowed 18 receptions on 30 targets for just 157 yards without giving up a touchdown this season, per PFF.
As McKinney lines up against tight ends or slot receivers when he is in man coverage, he could take away the Patriots’ top receiving threats on Sunday. Demario Douglas has been the Patriots’ primary slot receiver over the last few weeks, recording 20 receptions for 218 yards over the last four weeks.
Maybe McKinney can match Douglas’s speed on Sunday.
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