An inside look at Sunday’s Giants-Patriots NFL Week 12 matchup at MetLife Stadium:
Marquee matchup
Patriots DT Christian Barmore vs. Giants C John Michael Schmitz
With Matthew Judon out following biceps surgery, Barmore is tied for the team lead with three sacks, and he also has five tackles for loss.
He is a load in the middle, and it will be the job of Schmitz to move Barmore off the line.
Schmitz missed two games with a shoulder injury, and his rookie year is an ongoing learning process.
Through 10 games, Pro Football Focus had him with a negative grade on 21.7 percent of all running plays, the second-worst rate among all centers.
“I’d say each game he plays, he gets more experience, there’s different things that he sees that maybe he didn’t see at the college level,’’ Daboll said.
“Different powers, different sets, different rushes, different looks that he has to communicate, but I’d say his communication has been steadily improved. He’s a smart, young player.’’
Paul’s pick
Consider this: The Giants were clinging onto the lead for dear life in the closing minutes last week despite (at the time) owning a staggering 5-0 advantage in turnovers.
That is how slim the margin of error is with this team.
Most likely not having Dexter Lawrence and Darius Slayton hurts on both sides of the ball.
Tommy DeVito will see things he has not seen before from Bill Belichick’s defense in a meeting of the two lowest-scoring teams in the league.
Patriots 20, Giants 13
Four downs
Big man absence: There are so many attributes the Giants adore about Dexter Lawrence, and one of them is his durability.
The big (340 pounds) man has started all 11 games this season and played in 16 games every season the past four years.
Lawrence is dealing with a strained hamstring and is listed as doubtful for Sunday.
He is not replaceable, he does it all — stop the run, push the pocket, beat double-teams, and hit and sack the opposing quarterback.
There is a reason why he is the No. 1-graded defensive lineman this season by Pro Football Focus.
With Leonard Williams traded to the Seahawks, the Giants will have a hole in the middle of their defensive line that will be difficult for veterans A’Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches to fill.
Bill of fare: Bill Belichick is currently sitting on 422 victories as the head coach of the Patriots, including playoffs.
This next win moves him into a tie with Don Shula, who is at 423 wins with the Dolphins, for the third-most victories for a head coach with one franchise.
Tom Landry (454 wins with the Cowboys) is second on the list and George Halas is No. 1, with 506 wins with the Bears.
Figure the Patriots will win at least two more games this season and Belichick moves into third place.
Does he ever get higher than that?
There is plenty of speculation this will be his final year in New England.
Pass the Peppers: Remember Jabril Peppers?
The East Orange, N.J., native was thought to be the prize of the mega-trade in 2019 that sent Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon to Cleveland for Peppers, Kevin Zeitler plus a first- (Dexter Lawrence) and third-round pick (Oshane Ximines) in the 2019 draft.
Peppers spent three seasons with the Giants and did some decent things but tore his ACL in 2021, and that was that.
He has found a new football home with the Patriots, appearing in all 17 games in 2022 and starting all 10 games this season.
Saquon express: The numbers do not lie.
Saquon Barkley returned in Week 6 after missing three games with a high ankle sprain, and in the past six games he leads the NFL with 537 rushing yards and was second to Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in yards from scrimmage.
Barkley had 140 scrimmage yards last week at Washington, his 34th game reaching 100 yards from scrimmage.
That allowed him to pass Hall of Famer Frank Gifford and move into second place on the franchise career list.
Barkley will have to remain with the Giants for quite a while to come close to Tiki Barber’s franchise record of 81 games with 100 or more yards from scrimmage.
