Think the 2-3 New York Giants will be intimidated by the 5-0 New England Patriots when they come to Foxboro for Thursday night's matchup? Think again.
When asked how he feels about playing against the six-time Super Bowl champions at Gillette Stadium, Giants wide receiver Golden Tate treated it like any other game on the schedule.
“I don’t think we have a locker room full of fanboys,” Tate said, per The Boston Globe.
“We understand we’re all in the NFL. We’re going up there to do a job. We’ve all played in big games, at some point. I don’t think we need to put too much pressure on ourselves. We don’t want to get too high, too low, and we just want to live in the moment.”
The Giants -- who have shown signs of life with rookie Daniel Jones at quarterback -- will have their hands full with the Patriots' stifling defense. New England leads the league in points allowed per game, yards allowed per game, sacks, interceptions, takeaways and third-down conversions. Sunday's win over the Redskins marked the third time in five games they've allowed fewer than 10 points.
Tate understands the challenge it'll be going up against a defense of that caliber, but he believes his team has what it takes to surprise everyone and hand them their first loss of the 2019 campaign.
“We know they’re going to come well-prepared,” Tate told reporters. “Their defense is one of the greats in the National Football League. We’re going to have to play good, solid, fundamental football. We need to be efficient on third down, efficient in the red zone, and we need to come away with 7 points when we’re down there. We have to control the clock the best we can to keep [Tom] Brady and company off the field.
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“If we do our job the best we can, execute the best we can, and really study up on who the New England Patriots are, I think we have the chance to go out and do something special.”
New York could be without multiple key offensive weapons for the Thursday night showdown. Their No. 1 wide receiver Sterling Shepard and backup running back Wayne Gallman both are in concussion protocol. Star running back Saquon Barkley, who suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 3, was a limited participant in Monday's practice.
Kickoff for the Week 6 matchup is set for 8:20 p.m. ET.
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