New York Giants punter Riley Dixon addresses the blocked punt on Thursday night that led to the Patriots’ first touchdown.
It was scoreless for the majority of the first quarter. Keyword: majority. It wasn’t until 1:41 left in the opening period when the New England Patriots put the initial points on the board against the New York Giants.
At that very moment of the Week 6 “Thursday Night Football” matchup, a punt from Giants punter Riley Dixon hit off the head of linebacker Nate Stupar. With the ball up in the air for what seemed like an hour, Patriots defensive end Chase Winovich snatched it and brought it into the endzone. New England thus went up 7-0 in a game they’d eventually emerge victorious in by a score of 35-14. After the game, Dixon addressed what went down on the play.
“I catch the ball and I kick the ball,” Dixon said, per Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post. “That’s what I’m looking at. I have no idea what goes on in the front of the play. My eyes are on the football. I catch the ball and I’m looking at the ball and I kick the ball.”
It was the very mistake for the Giants that opened up the lazy river leading to overwhelming floodgates. Big Blue did contain the Patriots, as the game was tied at 14 until late in the first half. But, with New England, it’s like a slow death, to the point where you don’t even realize you’re down by 21. That became the final point spread in this matchup.
“A punt blocked in the NFL is not good, especially when they score on it, and especially when we’re playing a team as good as the Patriots,” the veteran punter mentioned. “It’s not good. We’ll just have to go back to the drawing board.”
The Giants will have some extra time to rest and recover from this loss before their next matchup. They take on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7 on Sunday, Oct. 20.
