As Week 12 came to a close for the Patriots (11-2) at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, New England was heading back to 1 Patriot Place in far worse shape health-wise than they were beforehand.
Both rookie starters on the left side of New England’s offensive line went down with an injury, with left guard Jared Wilson suffering a high ankle sprain and left tackle Will Campbell suffering an MCL sprain.
Wilson is considered week-to-week, while Campbell was added to the IR, knocking him out for at least four games.
That meant a steady offensive line all season long for New England was set to look very different on Monday Night Football in Week 13, as the Patriots were hosting a lowly New York Giants (2-11) team that, despite its poor record, sports an athletic pass rush.
But as it’s been for the Patriots all season long: the schedule lines ’em up, and New England knocks ’em down.
For the final game of the Week 13 NFL slate, New England put on a show for the country, walloping the G-Men 33-15 on their way to becoming the first team in football this season to win 11 games.
Ten of those 11 wins have come in the last 10 weeks, marking their longest single-season win streak since the 2016 season.
That year, New England won seven-straight regular season games leading into the postseason. From there, they won three more games en route to a victory in Super Bowl LI.
It’s their longest regular-season win streak since 2015, when the Patriots started 10-0 before losing in overtime to the Broncos in Denver in Week 12. That season ultimately ended at Mile High with a loss to those same Peyton Manning-led Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.
Does this team have a similar ceiling to those Brady-Belichick teams of a decade ago?
That’s a different conversation for a different day.
For now, here are your Ups & Downs for Week 13:
Ups:
- Marcus Jones: The man has a timeshare in “Ups,” people.
This week, his entry comes by way of special teams, as he returned a punt 94 yards to the house on the first punt of the ballgame in the first quarter.
In doing so, he became the fourth player in franchise history to return two punts in the same season, joining Troy Brown, Irving Fryar and Mike Haynes.
Three bonafide Patriots legends.
With already one All-Pro selection under his belt, Jones could be joining the ranks of Red Jacket Patriots if he continues on this pace over the next few years.
His ascension on defense in 2025 to go along with his elite special teams play has been a true joy to watch.
- Drake Maye: The kid was back to looking like an MVP candidate in Week 13, looking in complete control of the ballgame behind a depleted offensive line.
On the night, Maye was 24 of 31 for 282 yards, with 2 touchdowns, no picks, and a passer rating of 126.0.
In the first quarter, after driving his team into the red zone for points on the Patriots’ first possession, Maye had two throws on consecutive plays on their second possession that might not make the MVP highlight tape, but are emblematic of the growth the 23-year-old has had in year two.
On 1st and 10 from the Giants 39-yard line, Maye executed a play action pass that had the entire press box fooled. After tucking the ball away on a fake hand-off to TreVeyon Henderson, Maye placed the ball perfectly to Hunter Henry in space. After the tight end picked up some YAC, the Patriots had the ball on the Giants 3 yard line.
One play later, with a minute left in the quarter, Maye found Kayshon Boutte on the following play towards the corner of the end zone, lobbing the ball up for the best contested-ball receiver in the NFL to a spot that only he could access, and the Patriots were up 17-0.
Fast forward to under 4:00 to play, and that’s when Maye gave us one for the reel to play at NFL Honors in San Francisco in February.
On a 3rd and 9 from the Giants 33 yard line, rookie receiver Kyle Williams had his man just barely beat streaking down the left sideline. Maye recognized it with just enough time to place the ball pylon to give Williams a chance to make a play. The Washington-State product showed off some impressive body control, coming down with a toe-tapping touchdown grab as he rolled out of bounds.
It was an absolutely gorgeous ball.
It feels blasphemous to say this, but Maye’s downfield accuracy might just be better than Tom Brady’s.
Yes, there’s numbers that prove that. And yes, it’s still so early to be making any definitive statements about Maye as it relates to the GOAT. But on eye test alone, he keeps blowing me and everyone else that watches this team on a weekly basis away.
What a night. What a season for No. 10.
- Offensive Line: Credit where credit is due for a unit missing two starters, as well as one playing under the weather.
How could fans and media not be worried with Vederian Lowe slated to be the man starting in Campbell’s absence? In 2024, he was the 69th ranked tackle in football by Pro Football Focus (keep in mind, there’s only 32 teams in the league).
And with Ben Brown slotting in for Wilson, it has to be mentioned that he spent most of last season playing center at a below average level after being brought in on the scrapheap from the Raiders’ practice squad ahead of Week 6.
Add in the fact that center Garrett Bradbury was questionable heading into Monday with an illness, and this matchup was shaping up to look like a trap game for the Patriots ahead of their bye week.
But for a game, this unit did a great job.
Maye was only “sacked” three times on Monday night. One was recorded a sack even though it was actually a scramble for 0 yards, and another one was recorded a sack as he slid towards out of bounds to keep the clock rolling late in the fourth quarter.
Semantics.
I think it would be unrealistic to assume this group will be able to look this good on a weekly basis. But at least for a night, they did their job.
Downs:
- The New York Football Giants: It’s just not their year, folks.
Snake bit from the start, they’ve already lost offensive stars Malik Nabers and Cameron Skattebo. Pieces of their pass rush have missed time, and they badly botched their handling of their QB situation throughout the early part of the season.
They’ve fired their coach. They’ve fired their defensive coordinator. They probably should go ahead and fire a few more members of the operation as well.
This atrocious operation on a field goal attempt in the second quarter is just a microcosm of what this season has been like for New York:
Yes, they’ve blown a lot of leads.
But that’s what bad teams do, folks.
Another bad season of football for the Giants. You hate to see it!
- Red Zone Offense: It’s extremely hard to nitpick a blowout victory, but let’s go ahead and mark this one down, as it’s becoming a trend for New England.
In five trips to the red zone on Monday, the Patriots only came away with one touchdown to show for it.
That isn’t going to cut it in the postseason, plain and simple.
Whether it’s scoring from the 1 yard line or scoring from 10-12 yards out, Maye is too talented to not be punching that ball in the end zone on a regular basis once he’s inside the 20.
- Injuries to Monitor: For a brief moment in the second quarter, Kayshon Boutte went to the blue medical tent. This is obviously noteworthy, given that the 23-year-old has already missed time this year with an injury. He returned to the ballgame, but it’s something to monitor moving forward.
With under three to go in the second quarter, running back Terrell Jennings was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a head injury. The 24-year-old has already missed time this year with a knee injury.
Lucky for New England, Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson are both healthy. But if either back deals with an injury down the stretch, as Stevenson did just a few weeks ago, they’ll need the hard-running Jennings healthy to help keep the Patriots’ offense a balanced attack once the games get hard in January.
The Patriots have a bye in Week 14. When they return in Week 15, they’ll take on the team that has dominated the AFC East the last five years - the Buffalo Bills (8-4).
Despite beating Buffalo at Highmark Stadium in Week 5, the Patriots are 5.5-point underdogs, as of publishing, for their rematch at Gillette Stadium less than two weeks from now. You can get them at +175 on the moneyline, and the total sits at 46.5.
Tune in each and every Monday throughout the football season to Patriots Monday on WEEI. Head coach Mike Vrabel joins The Greg Hill Show at 6:30 a.m. ET, and quarterback Drake Maye joins WEEI Afternoons. Both Vrabel and Maye will appear on Tuesday this week, following the Monday night victory.