Patriots vs. Giants analysis: Best, worst from New England's 35-14 win

The New England Patriots offense struggled throughout Thursday night's game against the New York Giants, but once again the defense and special teams rose to the occasion and lifted the defending Super Bowl champs to another victory.
The Patriots beat the Giants 35-14 at Gillette Stadium to improve to 6-0. New England forced four turnovers (three interceptions and a fumble) and scored one touchdown apiece on defense and special teams.
Let's take a look at the best and worst from the Patriots' win.
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BEST: Patriots special teams
The Patriots scored their second special teams touchdown of the season in the first quarter when rookie Chase Winovich recovered a blocked punt. The Michigan product ran the ball into the end zone for his first career touchdown, and New England's second such score of the season. The Patriots also scored a touchdown off a blocked punt in their Week 4 win over the Buffalo Bills.
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WORST: Anyone who bet on the Giants
The Patriots were enormous betting favorites entering Week 6, with the spread closing as high as 17 points at some sportsbooks. New England covered with a late fourth quarter touchdown to improve their against-the-spread (ATS) record to 4-2 on the season. Under bettors also lost as both teams scored more points than many predicted, especially with the weather not being bad at all despite pregame forecasts calling for steady rain and fierce winds.
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BEST: Kyle Van Noy
Kyle Van Noy tallied two tackles, one sack, two QB hits and returned a fumble for a touchdown that increased the Patriots' lead to 28-14 in the fourth quarter.
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WORST: Daniel Jones
Daniel Jones became the 19th consecutive first- or second-year quarterback to lose to a Bill Belichick defense. The rookie QB completed 15 of 31 pass attempts for just 161 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. His first two interceptions came on really bad throws. His stat line would have looked even worse if not for a 64-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate in the second quarter. In fairness to Jones, most of his best weapons on offense didn't play due to injuries, but several of his mistakes led to Patriots points.
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BEST: Golden Tate
Veteran wide receiver Golden Tate was one of the few skill position players for the Giants who played well. He tallied six receptions for a team-leading 102 yards and a touchdown, including a 64-yard score in the second quarter.
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WORST: Giants on third down
The Patriots defense came into Week 6 leading the league in third down conversions, and they excelled in this area again. The Giants were successful on just two of their 10 third downs, which made it quite difficult to move the ball with any consistency.
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BEST: Patriots forcing turnovers
The Patriots entered Thursday leading the NFL in takeaways with 12 and interceptions with 11. They improved those totals with three interceptions of Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, one each from John Simon, Duron Harmon and Stephon Gilmore. The Patriots now have twice as many interceptions (14) as any other NFL team. Gilmore also led the Pats with four passes defensed in what probably was his best game of the season. Kyle Van Noy also recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter and returned it for a touchdown.
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WORST: Patriots injuries
Quite a few Patriots players suffered injuries (or re-aggravated an old one). Here's a recap:
Josh Gordon (knee)
Patrick Chung (chest)
Matt LaCosse (knee)
J.C. Jackson (knee)
Dont'a Hightower (shoulder)
Jakob Johnson (shoulder)
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BEST: Julian Edelman
Injuries to wide receivers Phillip Dorsett and Josh Gordon hit the Patriots' depth hard, and Julian Edelman stepped up when his team needed him most. The veteran wideout tallied a game-high nine receptions and 113 receiving yards on 15 targets, including a 36-yard catch to the 3-yard line that set up New England's final touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Edelman now has back-to-back 100-yard games.
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WORST: Patriots offensive line
The Patriots offensive line struggled at times to protect Tom Brady, giving up three sacks and six QB hits. Brady fumbled on a sack in the second quarter and the Giants returned it for a touchdown to tie the score at 14 points apiece. New England's o-line also wasn't able to consistently open up holes in the running game. The Pats finished with just 114 rushing yards on 33 attempts (3.5 yards per rush).
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