Patriots remain unbeaten, beat pesky Giants

There is something about the Patriots that brings out the best in the New York Giants, but on Sunday that was not enough as New England eked out a thrilling 27-26 victory on a last second, game-winning, 54-yard field goal.

It did not erase the bitter memory of two Super Bowl losses to the Giants during the storied run of coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, but the win kept the Pats perfect in 2015 with a 9-0 record.

"It was a fun game. Obviously those guys have had our number," kicker Steve Gostkowski said about the Giants, who had won three of the last four meetings against the Pats.

"Any time you can beat a good team on the road and have the fans go home quiet, it's a blast."

Not that Gostkowski was gloating, given the fine line between hero and goat.

"You're one kick away from being public enemy number one," he said.

"You're one play away from trending on Twitter as the number one loser in America."

The game was full of twists and turns, with the Giants squandering a 10-point lead they held midway through the third quarter.

"That was quite a game. So many elements to it, back and forth, the offense and defense, special teams, turnovers, big plays, penalties," said Belichick, who with Brady at quarterback has won four Super Bowl titles.

"In the end our guys made the plays they need to make. A big stop down there on the goal line. Barely had enough time to get into field goal range and Steve made a great kick."

"That's the way these games are. Can't worry about what happened in the first 58 minutes, 59 minutes. The game comes down to a certain point and it's how the two teams play from there on in, whether it's the last minute, the last 30 seconds."

Giants coach Tom Coughlin saw it from the losing end.

"Extremely disappointing loss," said Coughlin, whose team let several chances to clinch victory slip through their fingers. The Giants fell to 5-5 but still clung to first place in the NFC East.

The Patriots suffered a loss of their own as slot receiver Julian Edelman left the game in the first quarter with an injury and nfl.com reported that he had suffered a broken foot.

Brady was not at his best, but when the chips were down he led the Patriots down the field and into field goal position, completing a fourth-and-10 play en route and a last pass to Danny Amendola that got them within range.

"That's a tough team," Brady said about the Giants.

"It always comes down to the end with them. We talked about it before the game, that we just need to play hard for 60 minutes, and it took every last second."

Security

From Seattle to New York, the National Football League stepped up security inside and outside of stadiums on Sunday as America's most popular sports league responded to a series of coordinated attacks across Paris that left at least 129 dead.

Football fans, who were subject to vehicle searches and banned from bringing backpacks and purses into arenas, greeted new measures with a mixture of good humor, annoyance and resignation.

"We've had our 9/11. They had what happened to them. We're all one, without question. We sympathize absolutely," Craig Corcoran of the Bronx told Reuters, referring to the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on New York's World Trade Center.

"It's not going to stop us from having a good time. Over there, it's the same way. They're still going to go out and have their fun and they should," Corcoran said while tailgating in the parking lot outside of MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

While the U.S. Department of Homeland Security informed the National Football League there were no known specific threats, Commissioner Roger Goodell was taking no chances and ordered beefed-up security at all venues.

"The safety of our fans, stadium personnel, and teams at all NFL games is our priority, and security at our games is robust," the league said in a statement.

The NFL and other North American professional sport leagues went on high alert after one of the attacks on Friday targeted a friendly soccer match between France and Germany where suicide bombers apparently attempted to enter the Stade de France, in a suburb just north of Paris.

A moment of silence was observed at Sunday's games with the French flag shown on video boards, and in some stadiums, including MetLife, the French flag was also exhibited by national color guard details during the anthem.

The National Hockey League paid tribute to the victims of the Paris attacks on Saturday night with a moment of silence before each of the 12 games scheduled in Canada and the United States.

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