This is Patriots-Giants Day, and, of course, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Yeah, that’s right. Loser wins.

Perhaps the National Football League needs a lottery to prevent this from being the case, because, after all, “tank” is a four-letter word.

And not one that competitive coaches and players want to hear.

Both the New England Patriots and the New York Giants have their issues. Both teams have lousy or at best struggling offensive lines due to injuries, draft busts (or poor drafting), etc. Their defensive lines have been up and down, and the secondary has its weaknesses. Receivers? Name a game breaker on either one, although the Giants do have a couple of deep threats.

But basically, it reverts to the quarterback position, right? Obviously, the two teams met in Super Bowls because of the days of Tom Brady and Eli Manning. Now? Must be something about that last name Jones. The Giants’ $40 million man Daniel Jones is out for likely the next 10-11 months with a torn ACL. New England’s Mac Jones has regressed badly from his rookie season, as whatever hard work we keep hearing he’s been doing on the field has translated to a diaster off it.

But what really do both quarterbacks have in common? They turn the ball over. New York’s/New Jersey’s newest folk hero and Daniel Jones replacement Tommy “Don’t Call Me Danny” DeVito, may not remind anyone of any Hall of Famers, but he hasn’t turned the ball over. That’s key. Meanwhile, “turnover” is Mac Jones’ middle name.

So what to do, franchises? Patriots coach Bill Belichick will never tank or purposely lose a game. Well, almost never, as he did just that in a regular season finale back in 2005 to avoid playing a tougher team in the first round of the playoffs.

But he’s not doing it now. He’s chasing Don Shula’s all-time record, and if all the rumors and indicators are true, he probably won’t break that mark wearing a Patriots hoodie. So why would he toss away seven games (yes, there are that many left, believe it or not)? He likely won’t be the one benefitting from a high draft pick.

Bottom line is both teams are seeking that can’t miss QB. It’s becoming more and more and more evident what it can do for a franchise. Just look at Houston, where C.J. Stroud, who had a couple of non-descript series before exiting in his pro debut (preseason) at Gillette back in August, is tearing it up. He’s turned the Houston Texans into a kinda-sorta playoff contender at 6-4 with his incredible rookie season, although he did morph back into a rookie with three interceptions last Sunday. He’s got Rookie of the Year sewn up already and he may even get more awards. He’s made old friend Nick Caserio, who some thought might be fired before the season started, into the NFL’s latest genius and could earn DeMeco Ryans Coach of the Year. Or, he could stink the last seven weeks of the season and have everyone questioning things.

So do you want Caleb Williams? Drake Maye? J.J. McCarthy? Bo Nix? Michael Penix? Then you want the Patriots to lose at the Meadowlands. That’s not good, and the experience both the Patriots and Giants have had this fall has been awful. Nothing is more deflating than a football season that is over by – or in this case well before – Thanksgiving.

Get a lottery, NFL. Heck, just put the Futile Five’s names in a container and draw them out for the draft order. Yeah, we’re pretty simplistic.

The Patriots and the Giants meet on Sunday in a much anticipated game. To the loser go the spoils.

And that’s horrible.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.

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