Patriots Face Giants Minus Two Starters on Offensive Line
The New England Patriots haven’t faced much adversity this season, but they will on Monday night when they host the New York Giants in Foxborough, Mass. New England (10–2), riding a nine-game winning streak, will be without two starters on its offensive line: left tackle Will Campbell and left guard Jared Wilson.
Campbell, the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, was placed on injured reserve Wednesday after reportedly sustaining an MCL sprain in last Sunday’s 26–20 win over Cincinnati. He will miss at least four games. Wilson (ankle) has also been ruled out, head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters.
Quarterback Drake Maye has been sacked 37 times this season — the third most in the league — and Vrabel said New York’s defensive front presents a major challenge.
“I think 57 of the 66 quarterback hits come from those guys up front,” Vrabel said. “Three edge guys with (Brian) Burns, (Kayvon) Thibodeaux, (Abdul) Carter. Obviously, what Big Dex (Dexter Lawrence II) can do inside and (Roy) Robertson-Harris. So, those guys are certainly impactful players who have to be accounted for every play. They rotate them through there pretty well, and so there’s a lot of juice there. There’s a lot of disruption.”
Despite the pressure he’s taken, Maye leads the NFL with 3,130 passing yards and a 71.0% completion rate through 12 games. His 21 touchdown passes rank fifth.
The Giants (2–10) will turn back to rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, who returns after missing two games due to a concussion suffered Nov. 9 against Chicago, interim head coach Mike Kafka said Friday. Dart has thrown 10 touchdowns and three interceptions across seven starts. Before the injury, he completed 19 of 29 passes for 242 yards against the Bears. Jameis Winston started the past two games in his absence.
Both Dexter Lawrence (elbow) and Kayvon Thibodeaux (shoulder) missed Wednesday’s practice. Thibodeaux has sat out New York’s last two games. The Giants are seeking their first road win since Week 5 of last season, a stretch during which they’ve lost 12 straight away games.
New York fired defensive coordinator Shane Bowen on Monday, 12 games into his second season in the role. Outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen was named interim coordinator.
“The results just weren’t where we wanted them to be, and so Charlie’s going to step up for us and rally the group,” Kafka said. “The defensive staff will rally around Charlie and put together a great plan. I got a lot of confidence in the room and a lot of confidence in our staff to do that.”
The Giants enter Monday ranked 32nd in rushing defense, 23rd in passing defense, and 30th in scoring defense.
For New England, five additional players did not practice on Wednesday: tight end CJ Dippre (back), linebacker Harold Landry III (knee), offensive tackle Morgan Moses (illness), safety Brenden Schooler (ankle), and linebacker Jahlani Tavai (personal).
