Later on, Maye put an exclamation point on a dominant first half with a 33-yard touchdown pass to rookie WR Kyle Williams. The Giants are man coverage, so Maye attacks the backside of the coverage, which is essentially 1-on-1 on the outside. Williams uses a great release to beat Giants CB Paulson Adebo at the line of scrimmage, and Maye drops a dime in the bucket to give the Patriots a 24-7 lead in the second quarter.

With all due respect to Rams QB Matthew Stafford and others, Maye is the league MVP through Week 13. On Monday night, he elevated a banged-up offensive line and a group of skill players that many pundits felt was limited heading into the season. Now, maybe the scribes undersold the Patriots weapons, but a great quarterback elevates his supporting cast, and Maye has done that better than anyone this season.

With two marquee matchups against the Bills and Ravens on the horizon, Maye has a chance to put himself solidly in front of the pack in the race for NFL MVP.

3. Pats O-Line Delivers Solid Performance vs. Giants Talented Pass Rush

The Patriots offensive line came into Monday night’s game down multiple starters, with rookies Will Campbell (knee) and Jared Wilson (ankle) sidelined with injuries, forcing New England to start two new faces on the left side of its offensive line.

Then, news broke pre-game that C Garrett Bradbury was also fighting an illness. Bradbury told reporters that there was never a doubt in his mind that he was playing. Still, their starting center was under the weather, while OT Vederian Lowe and G/C Ben Brown had to slide in for Campbell and Wilson on the left side. All of this, mind you, was going on with a scary Giants pass rush featuring stud pass-rushers Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, and Dexter Lawrence in town to face the Patriots third different offensive line combination of the season on Monday night.

Despite all that, Maye was only under pressure on 25% of his drop-backs on initial viewing, according to Pro Football Focus – an outstanding effort by the O-Line. Lowe was the only Pats linemen to allow multiple pressures, and he only allowed two while facing Burns and Carter in 26 one-on-one matchups. As for Brown, the Pats left guard only allowed one hurry and was called for a hold in a solid outing.

“The big thing with us was just communication, and I felt like we were on the same page tonight. I felt like we were both talking and knew exactly where we were going. Having all that communication definitely instills some confidence. Just working on that at practice and in the meetings, then translating that onto the field, I thought it went well,” Brown told Patriots.com.

Lowe also added that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels emphasizes communicating with your “wingman” as an offensive line, or the blocker lined up next to you on the line. Lowe then added some insight into his approach to slowing down Burns and Carter on Monday night.

“Just getting off the ball. They make a lot of plays just beating guys off the snap, you know, especially Burns and Carter working the edge and then beating guys back inside,” Lowe said. “Getting off the snap, staying inside out, allowing Drake to step up, running them by, letting Drake do what he does best.”

Obviously, Brown and Lowe deserve the most credit for their performance on Monday night. However, McDaniels and offensive line coaches Doug Marrone, Jason Houghtaling, and Robert Kugler also had the Patriots top backups ready to play when called upon. After losing their two talented rookies in Cincinnati, a Giants pass-rush that is formidable on paper could’ve taken over the game. Instead, Brown, Lowe, and company stepped up and showed out vs. the Giants.

4. Patriots Defense Starts Fast While Limiting Giants Offense to 15 Points

Another positive development in the win was the Patriots defense forcing a punt on the Giants opening drive, snapping a streak of allowing an opening-drive score in three straight games.

The Patriots defense had allowed six opening-drive touchdowns and nine opening-drive scores, tied for most in the league. On Monday night, New England allowed one first down on New York’s opening drive, getting off the field in five plays. Overall, the Giants had only 239 yards of offense and ranked 33rd percentile in expected points added per play (-0.08).