How Patriots linebacker’s hit set tone for a decisive win

FOXBOROUGH — Christian Elliss thought Jaxson Dart was going to run out of bounds.

But when the Giants quarterback started to tiptoe down along the sideline toward the first down marker, the Patriots linebacker sped up.

The hit was legal. Elliss kept his head away from the impact and lowered his shoulder into the quarterback, shoulder-to-shoulder. Dart’s attempt to balance-beam the sideline left him ill-prepared to absorb any hit, and Elliss had him lined up.

“Scrambling out of the pocket, trying to get the first down and guy made a good hit,” Dart said.

That hit sent Dart, who was in his first game back after missing two games with a concussion, sprawling. The rookie sailed several yards with his back parallel to the ground before crashing into the Giants’ sideline.

“When I saw him