Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss said Tuesday on WEEI that he and his family received “crazy messages” from Giants fans after delivering two big hits in Monday night’s win.
Elliss sent Jaxson Dart flying with a big hit down the sideline in the first quarter when the Giants quarterback was running down the sideline on second-and-12 while trying to pick up a first down. Elliss hit Dart and sent him careening onto the sideline. Giants players went after Elliss to defend their quarterback, and tight end Theo Johnson was flagged for unnecessary roughness.
“If it’s our guy, I want him going down or going out of bounds,” Elliss said. “But if that’s how he wants to play, then he’s a hard-nosed, tough guy, that’s just what’s gonna happen.”
After the game, Elliss said his message to opposing quarterbacks and offenses was “make sure to slide.”
Head coach Mike Vrabel defended Elliss, who also helped cause a fumble with a hard hit on Giants kick returner Gunner Olszewski in the second quarter. Olszewski twisted while getting tackled by Patriots linebacker Marte Mapu, causing Elliss to deliver a helmet-to-helmet hit. Officials ruled the hit incidental, though Olszewski left the game and didn’t return with a head injury.
“There’s nothing illegal about anything that he did,” Vrabel said. “There’s nothing dirty. It’s him playing football. Whether it’s covering kicks, and he takes a lot of pride in that unit, and also on defense.”
Vrabel continued: “He’s a great teammate. His teammates care deeply about him. He cares about this football team. He’s got great relationships throughout the building with his coaches and obviously with his teammates. That’s another special group, the linebacker group. Christian got us going.”