FOXBORO, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- Kerry Collins threw an interception on the first play of the game, and things only got worse for the New York Giants.
Facing Bill Belichick's multiple fronts and disguised coverages, Collins threw a career high-tying four interceptions as the New England Patriots posted a 17-6 victory over the New England Patriots.
"It's frustrating, it's disappointing," Collins said. "Some (of the interceptions were) careless, some just bad luck. We have to figure out what's going on and stop it."
Both Collins and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady struggled with their footing on a field dampened by steady drizzle in the first half, but Brady did not hurt his team with turnovers and was effective in the second half after completing only 1-of-10 passes for seven yards in the first.
"That was not what we were looking for," Brady said.
Brady was 8-of-21 for 112 yards, and did not throw a touchdown pass. More importantly, though, he did not throw an interception and was sacked only twice.
"I think we went out there and played better in the second half," Brady said. "And not that it was even that great in the second half, but it was better."
Adam Vinatieri missed a 42-yard field goal after Collins' first interception, but on the second play of the Giants' ensuing drive, Tiki Barber fumbled and Matt Chatham returned it 39 yards for a touchdown to put the Patriots on the board.
New York (2-3) outgained New England, 198-30 in the first half, but Brett Conway, signed earlier in the week to replace injured Giants kicker Matt Bryant, missed two of three field goals, and the Patriots took a 7-3 lead to the locker room.
"I hit them all pretty well," Conway said. "The 47-yarder I barely missed and the 49-yarder was actually tipped. It was a bad day for kickers, good day for ducks."
The Giants' special teams were bad beyond Conway, who did connect from 22 and 34 yards. Jeff Feagles could not muster a punt of more than 39 yards and returner Brian Mitchell averaged just 4.7 yards on his six punt returns.
The Patriots (4-2), who went three-and-out on each of their last five drives in the first half, took control of the game for good on their first two drives after halftime. New England marched up the field for a field goal and a one-yard touchdown run by Mike Cloud on those possessions to increase their lead to 17-3.
Kevin Faulk was key to the Patriots' ability to move the ball in the second half. He carried 14 times for 87 yards, all but two of which came after intermission.
"He did a great job," Brady said. "Kevin has been doing that for a while. He was a spark."
The touchdown came after one of New England's few offensive gambles, a 39-yard pass from Brady to Troy Brown that got the Patriots to the New York 18.
New York wanted to challenge the play, saying that Brown did not get both feet inbounds, but Brady got New England to the line quickly and got the next play off before the Giants could challenge.
"Tom did a good job (to get to) the line, and got it off before they had a chance to challenge it," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "Any time we have got a play like that, usually on a turnover, the clock stops anyway, so it is hard to get it in that position (to avoid a video review)."
New England has a plus-12 turnover ratio in its four wins, compared to a minus-6 ratio in its two losses. The Patriots have won four of their last five games after a 31-0 season-opening loss at Buffalo.
"In retrospect, the way we lost the game in Buffalo had a positive effect," Patriots fullback Larry Centers said. "It forced us to look in the mirror, at the big picture. We realized in order for us to win, we had to step off the bus ready to play."
The Giants have gone six quarters without a touchdown and have committed nine turnovers in back-to-back losses.
"It starts with me," Giants coach Jim Fassel said. "I'll look at everything we're doing and see how I can get some guys to play a little harder. You can't have a lot of turnovers and not get any and think you're going to win on the road."
The Giants face a key game next week against the Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams were expected to contend in the NFC East after making the playoffs last season, but are tied for last in the division, two games behind the front-running Dallas Cowboys.
"Quitting - I don't understand that word," Giants defensive tackle Keith Hamilton said. "This is a tough situation, but you can tell the toughness about people when things are going bad and things are pretty grim right now, so we'll find out about a lot of people. I'm not going to quit and I don't think anyone else around me is going to quit."
The last time the Giants lost back-to-back games was last season against Houston and Tennessee. New York, 6-6 at the time, rebounded by winning its last four games to make the playoffs.
