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3 Things To Watch in NY Giants Week 13 Game Versus Patriots, Including Changes on Defense
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- 3 Things To Watch in NY Giants Week 13 Game Versus Patriots, Including Changes on Defense
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There hasn't been much to be thankful for this season for the New York Giants . They've lost six straight games, fired their head coach Brian Daboll earlier this month, and this week fired defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.
To further add to how disappointing the 2025 season has been for them, they were the first team in the league to be eliminated from playoff contention. Now they'll face the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football. A red-hot team riding a nine-game winning streak.
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Despite everything that has gone wrong this year, there is some excitement this week as Jaxson Dart will start in Week 13 after missing the last two games with a concussion. In addition to the return of their rookie running back, there will be other elements to keep an eye on in Monday's matchup.
New wrinkles from the offense in Jaxson Dart 's return?
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Monday will mark the first time that Dart has played since Mike Kafka was named interim head coach. Since Kafka became the head man in charge, the offense has been daring and innovative. This was evident last week when Jameis Winston connected on a 39-yard touchdown to Wan'Dale Robinson after Devin Singletary pitched the ball back to him, and then later in the game, Winston caught a 33-yard touchdown on a pass from Gunner Olszewski .
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It will be interesting to watch what new wrinkles we'll see from the offense this week against the Patriots. Dart is more mobile than Winston, and it will be interesting to see what plays the interim head coach dials up against New England 's seventh-ranked defense.
We should see a couple of more trick plays from Big Blue's offense with the return of their starting quarterback.
Will the defense be more aggressive under Charlie Bullen?
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One of the reasons Shane Bowen was relieved of his duties and replaced by Charlie Bullen was his passive approach when it came to coverage, particularly late in games. Bullen was promoted from being the team's outside linebacker coach, and will call plays for the first time Monday night.
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Although he's never been a defensive play caller, he worked under current Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph in their time together with the Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals .
Joseph is one of the more aggressive defensive coordinators in the NFL, and on Friday, Bullen was asked if the defense would be more aggressive with the schemes.
"It might be. It might be. No, Vance is a great friend of mine and a big mentor of mine. And we talk quite a bit, even before this type of thing, and he's influenced me for sure, so we'll see where it goes. We'll see where it goes."
The 41-year-old interim defensive coordinator has a tough first task going against the Patriots' eight-ranked offense led by quarterback Drake Maye , who is playing at a Pro Bowl level, and having to match wits with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
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McDaniels is one of the most creative coordinators in the league, and instead of trying to slow down New England's offense with exotic coverages, it would probably behoove Bullen to be aggressive in coverage as well as blitzing more than Bowen did.
Can the team put an end to their fourth-quarter woes?
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The main reason Big Blue hasn't won a game in nearly two full months is that they've been outscored 93-51 in the fourth quarter during their losing streak. The bulk of the blame has been put on the defense, but the offense also had chances to close out games by gaining a couple of first downs.
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With the return of Dart and Bullen now as the DC, can the Giants finally end their fourth-quarter woes, or will they continue to linger on? If Kafka has any hope of being the coach in 2026, the team must perform better in the final period.
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