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Last-second FG preserves Pats' perfect record

By Patti Traina, The Sports Xchange
New England Patriots Tom Brady throws a pass against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on November 15, 2015. The Patriots defeated the Giants 27-26. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
1 of 3 | New England Patriots Tom Brady throws a pass against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on November 15, 2015. The Patriots defeated the Giants 27-26. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Stephen Gostkowski made a 54-yard field goal with one second left and the New England Patriots rallied to beat the New York Giants 27-26 and remain undefeated on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

Quarterback Tom Brady was nearly intercepted by Giants rookie safety Landon Collins, who dropped the pick when he landed awkwardly on his neck and upper back, but got the ball into Giants' territory with four seconds remaining and Gostkowski finished the rally.

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The Giants went ahead 26-24 on a 29-yard Josh Brown field goal just after the two-minute warning. New York thought it had a touchdown when Eli Manning connected with Odell Beckham, Jr. in front of cornerback Malcolm Butler in the end zone.

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Officials ruled a touchdown, but replay showed Butler batted the ball out of Beckham's hands before his second foot was on the ground to complete the catch.

"I lost us the game with the play down in the end zone, a play that should have been made," Beckham said. "You can't leave it up to the officials to get anything right. You've got to make the play yourself and it was just a case of playing the play longer than the opponent."

Manning missed another throw to the end zone and on third down slid down in bounds to stop the clock.

New York's defense played the Patriots tough, coming up with two big turnovers, but the offense was unable to convert either into touchdowns.

Up 23-17 at the end of the third quarter, middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley sacked and stripped Brady of the ball and defensive tackle Markus Kuhn recovered it at the Patriots' 39-yard line. The drive stalled, and the Giants ended up punting the ball away to the Patriots, who, three plays later, took a 24-23 lead when Brady hit tight end Rob Gronkowski for a 76-yard touchdown, their first lead in the second half of the game.

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Later in the fourth quarter, cornerback Trumaine McBride came up with an interception of a Brady pass intended for receiver Brandon LaFell at the Giants' 1-yard line to snuff out the Patriots scoring threat. However, the Giants offense again failed to finish the drive, instead settling for a 29-yard field goal.

"Not much for me to say about it other than the frustration was -- I mean finish the game, just get the game over with," Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said. "I thought there were times in the second half we weren't able obviously to sustain any kind of drives and that was frustrating in itself."

With the Giants up 26-24, Brady (26 of 42 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns) quickly drove his team 44 yards on 12 plays to set up Gostkowski's game-winner with six seconds left.

"All I really think about is don't kick the ball too hard because a lot of times when I miss kicks, it's when I really try to kill it," Gostkowski said, adding that he sang a song in his head to tune out the noise and other distractions prior to attempting his game-winning kick. "I look forward to the opportunity. I think if you shy away from the opportunity, you have a good chance of going out there and second-guessing yourself."

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LeGarrete Blount's 1-yard run cut the Patriots' deficit to 20-17 in the middle of the third quarter. The score was set up by Danny Amendola's 82-yard punt return.

Beckham, who caught four passes for 104 yards, caught an 87-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter after Brady and tight end Scott Chandler connected on a 1-yard touchdown.

Brady lauded the Giants defense, which despite having several question marks due to injury, sacked him three times, hit him five times and broke up six of his pass attempts.

"They played great," he said. "I think they've always had a good defense. They're well coached. They're a very good football team. We didn't play our best, but we made enough plays."

The Giants (5-5), who remain in first place in the NFC East despite the loss, head into their bye week.

NOTES: The Patriots set a record by scoring in 35 consecutive quarters. ... QB Eli Manning's first-quarter, 87-yard touchdown pass to WR Odell Beckham Jr. was his 20th of the season. This is the 10th time in Manning's 12-year career that he threw for at least 20 touchdowns. ... Both teams had some injury concerns. Patriots WR Julian Edelman left the game in the second half with a broken foot and did not return. The Giants lost C Weston Richburg to a third-quarter ankle injury and reserve LB Mark Herzlich, a special teams player, to a quad injury that occurred on New England WR Danny Amendola's 82-yard punt return in the third quarter.

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