We know this much for sure: the New England Patriots will host the New York Giants on Monday Night Football this week.
Beyond that, mystery abounds.
Just a week after New England spent all week preparing for either Joe Burrow or Joe Flacco, they now have to prepare for either Jameis Winston or Jaxson Dart – two very entertaining, but different options at quarterback.
The Giants have suffered a slew of injuries outside of the quarterback room and have been forced to field pretty varied units week-to-week. For example, lead back Tyron Tracy dislocated his shoulder in late September, birthing the viral sensation that was rookie Cam Skattebo – until Skattebo suffered a season-ending injury, himself. Now, Tracy is back at his original position…although, sometimes sharing the load equally with Devin Singletary.
New York’s defense is even more amorphous. Although the unit enters Week 13 with the most rushing yards allowed per game and the third-most total yards allowed, they made a major shakeup early in the week by firing defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, (a personal friend of Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel – insert eyeballs emoji). Vrabel was skeptical about whether the scheme will look drastically different under interim coordinator Charlie Bullen, who was promoted from his outside linebackers post after Bowen’s dismissal.
“If they can change the defense in a week, then they’re better than we are,” Vrabel said Wednesday. “Maybe he pressures more. Maybe he plays more cover-2. I have no idea. But I think that the structure has got to be somewhat the same. Maybe you want to pressure more. I think that the calls that they have, those can always change. I just – it would be really hard to completely change from an under front to an over in base. But then, they were pretty multiple before.”
“In terms of the play caller, there’s going to be some carryover,” Patriots center Garrett Bradbury agreed, when speaking with WEEI at his locker. “They’re not going to put in a whole new defense. But being in the NFL, you have to be able to adjust.”
“We’ve seen quite a few looks this year, to this point,” he added. “So, it’s just being able to adjust on the fly. And our coaches do a good job of that.”
Fair enough, but add to the chaos the Giants’ injuries on defense. Cornerback Paulson Adebo has missed five games with a sprained MCL, and was a surprise scratch after suffering a setback while trying to ramp back up. Outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux also missed last week’s game against the Lions, with shoulder injury.
Put it all together, and the Patriots don’t yet know who’s playing quarterback, who’s active for the defense, or what the defensive stunts and dressing the new play caller may present – which may factor in a big way, considering the Patriots have two backups filling in, on the offensive line, as Will Campbell heads to Injury Reserve and Jared Wilson begins his own injury rehabilitation.
The Giants are the opposite of the Patriots in their close game execution. Where New England has been able to hold onto their one-score leads in the last two games, against the Jets and Bengals, the Giants have lost three straight games by a one-score margin, and five one-score games overall this year.
New England has had a habit of letting less talented teams hang around a little too long. If they give New York too much of an opportunity, this primetime game has the potential for an out-of-conference upset to start December.