Studs and duds from Patriots' dominant 33-15 primetime win over Giants

Under the bright lights of Monday Night Football, the New England Patriots once again showed the NFL world who they are as a football team.

It's up to you to decide if you're ready to believe it.

With that said, the Patriots aren't waiting on naysayers to convince them that they're the best team in football. They continued to let their play do the talking by dismantling the visiting New York Giants in every phase of the game for a 33-15 win in primetime.

The most impressive part about their performance is the fact that they weren't even 100 percent for the game. They were missing two starting offensive linemen in Will Campbell and Jared Wilson. Their star defensive tackle, Milton Williams, is also sidelined with an ankle injury.

They didn't even have their run-stuffing machine, Khyiris Tonga, on the field for the game.

And they still dominated a feisty Giants team that has given some of the best teams in the league trouble this season. Here are the studs and duds from the game:

STUD: QB Drake Maye

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye put on an MVP-caliber performance against the Giants. It was the same efficiency we've seen from him all season with a couple of ridiculous throws in there that showed he is playing at a different level than his contemporaries. He finished the game going 24-of-31 passing for 282 yards and two touchdowns with a 126.0 quarterback rating.

STUD: OT Vederian Lowe and G Ben Brown

The backup offensive linemen, Vederian Lowe and Ben Brown, deserve credit for stepping up in a seemingly impossible situation after the team lost Will Campbell and Jared Wilson against the Cincinnati Bengals last week. It was a surprisingly quiet night for the two replacements against the Giants, and that's usually a good thing in the NFL. Both Lowe and Brown held their own in the primetime spotlight and helped create opportunities for their offense to make plays.

DUD: P Bryce Baringer

Patriots punter Bryce Baringer shanked a 22-yard punt in the game. That's at least one thing the Patriots can aim to clean up over the bye week. Rookie kicker Andres Borregales also badly missed a 45-yard field goal, but he ultimately went 4-of-5 in attempts, which was good enough to keep him off the dud list with Baringer.

STUD: CB Marcus Jones

Patriots cornerback/returner Marcus Jones is having an All-Pro season. Not only has he been one of the best slot cornerbacks in the league this season, but he is also one of the best punt returners in all of football. You could have blinked and missed him splitting Giants defenders on special teams and taking the ball to the house for a 94-yard touchdown return. It was the play that sparked the blowout win for New England.

STUD: LB Christian Elliss

What in the world got into Christian Elliss? He played angrily on Monday night and absolutely obliterated Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart and kickoff returner Gunner Olszewski with a pair of massive hits in the game. Dart was sent flying from a hit by Elliss when trying to tiptoe for extra yards on a sideline run attempt. Olszewski got hit so hard that it scraped part of the logo off his helmet and forced a fumble.

STUD: WR Kyle Williams

The Patriots are slowly getting rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams more involved on offense, and that's a good thing when it comes to the team creating explosive plays. Williams is one of those rare receivers who has an extra gear to blow past defenders. Maye dropped a beautiful 33-yard corner touchdown pass in the bucket on Monday night, and the young wideout showed off his incredible tracking ability, along with the ability to keep his feet in bounds, to make the play on the ball.

DUD: S Jaylinn Hawkins

It was a shaky performance from Patriots veteran safety Jaylinn Hawkins. He was penalized for an unnecessary roughness penalty after a devastating helmet-to-helmet hit on Giants tight end Theo Johnson. Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton also caught him out of position and got past him on a 30-yard catch and run for a touchdown.

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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Studs and duds from Patriots' dominant 33-15 primetime win over Giants