The Giants come to town for a matchup Sunday and are armed with exactly what the Patriots’ ailing defense doesn’t need to see: a red-hot quarterback.
With older brother Peyton Manning on the sidelines this season with a neck injury, Eli Manning of the Giants has assumed control.
Manning, 30, just concluded a month of October in which he passed for at least 321 yards in three of four games - and in the other he threw for 292 in a victory over the Bills.
So far this season, Manning has completed a career-high 64.7 percent of his passes and he owns a passer rating of 102.1; he has never completed a season over 93.1. He has 13 touchdown passes against five interceptions. Manning is also averaging 8.8 yards per attempt, nearly a full yard more than his previous high (7.9 in 2009).
“I would say he is controlled,’’ said Giants coach Tom Coughlin. “He is obviously very aware of situations and circumstances. He has been very accurate.
“The poise and confidence, the accuracy and the knowledge with all the studying that he does, the way that he performs, is by knowing the opponent. He does a real good job with that and he has a lot of responsibility and he does a very good job with that.’’
This might be Manning’s best stretch since the end of the ’07 season, which ended with a Super Bowl victory over the Patriots.
“He has put together a very, very nice string,’’ Coughlin said. “I think from the second week on, his rating has been from the mid-high 90s and beyond. He is playing very well and we expect that to remain that way.’’
A look at the Giants’ other positions:
Running back: Ahmad Bradshaw leads the Giants with 630 total yards, including 440 on 111 carries (4.0 average). He may be small (5 feet 10 inches, 214 pounds) but he’s quick and is excellent at blitz pickup, which enables him to stay on the field. The Giants have been disappointing on the ground overall. Their 85.6-yard per-game average ranks 30th in the league.
Receivers: The top three receivers - Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, and Victor Cruz - are playing very well right now. Nicks, who is nursing an injured hamstring, leads the team with 38 receptions and 575 yards. Cruz, a UMass product, has emerged this season and leads the team with four receiving touchdowns. Manningham has 16 catches in his past three games. Jake Ballard has replaced the departed Kevin Boss seamlessly.
Offensive line: The Giants have an excellent left side of the line with tackle Williams Beatty and guard David Diehl. The rest of the unit - center David Baas, right guard Chris Snee, and right tackle Kareem McKenzie - have had their struggles.
