FOXBOROUGH – It’s tough to get worked up over a two-win New York Giants team that fired its head coach three weeks ago, and followed a few weeks later by canning its defensive coordinator.
On the surface, the Giants sure seem like they’ll wind up as the next round of roadkill for the Patriots Monday night.
And yet, there’s a bit of angst and apprehension surrounding this game for Drake Maye and a 10-2 Patriots team that’s won nine straight games.
After the injury bug finally hit during the past week, mixed in with a group that’s running on fumes, the anxiety is justified.
Starting left tackle Will Campbell suffered a knee injury against the Cincinnati Bengals that will force him to miss the next four games thanks to being placed on IR.
Starting left guard Jared Wilson left the same game with a high ankle sprain. He won’t play against the Giants.
Having Maye operate with backups on his blindside is reason enough to cause a bit of trepidation amongst the Foxborough faithful.
And, given the Giants daunting defensive front, there’s a chance this could prove a nightmare for the Patriots, who will be operating on 13 straight weeks of games before finally hitting their bye week.
Naturally, Maye has done his best to allay fears about operating with a makeshift offensive line. On Wednesday, the Patriots quarterback expressed confidence in Vederian Lowe, or V-Lowe as he called him, and Ben Brown, who are expected to start at left tackle and left guard respectively.
“I got full trust in those guys stepping up, and I got to do my part of following the plan, and we’ll have a plan,” Maye said. ”I think they came in and did a nice job, really, in that room. They’ve done a nice job all year, whoever’s been in there.”
It would have been shocking for him to say anything otherwise. Maye is going to back his guys no matter what. Beyond that, he pointed out that Lowe and Brown played in front of him last year at different times, so he does have a bit of a comfort level with them.
The duo held up against the Cincinnati Bengals after coming on as the respective “next men up” last week. The Giants, however, are a different animal when it comes to pass rush.
They may be a two-win team, but they’ve shown the ability to get to the quarterback. With 13 sacks, Brian Burns sits right behind Myles Garrett as the league’s top take-down artist of quarterbacks. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who is questionable for the game, and No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter are also part of the equation.
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels knows what the Giants can do. He’s well aware of what’s in store.
“Their front represents a lot of challenges,” McDaniels said Friday. “They’re very disruptive. They’ve got a lot of good players. And there’s also the unknown of a new play caller, so there’s some things up in the air in that regard.”
What’s not up in the air is the Giants wanting to be much more aggressive. They are going to blitz more often.
So there’s little doubt the Patriots offensive line, Lowe in particular, will be up against it.
Looking back at the disaster that was the Patriots offensive line in 2024, it’s hard to erase the image of a penalty-prone Lowe, who had serious pass protection issues.
But with a new coaching staff, and an improved set of offensive line coaches, Lowe at the very least deserves a chance to prove he can hold the fort until Campbell returns.
“It’s really next man mentality, next man up,” said Lowe, who revealed Wednesday he played with a torn labrum last year during the final nine games of the season. “I’m ready to go. Go in there, produce and do my job. That’s what coach says each and every week, prepare like you’re a starter, no matter what your role is. Everyone has a role, and you always have to prepare to play.”
Ditto Brown who is taking Wilson’s place.
Through the first 11 games, Campbell had been solid, which made life a lot easier for Maye.
Pro Football Focus had him in their top 15 both as a pass blocker and run blocker. The Patriots 2025 first-round pick was competent in that all-important position, and that allowed McDaniels to utilize his tight ends and running backs more as receivers, as opposed to blockers helping out over-matched linemen.
Depending how Lowe fares, he might not have the luxury of having all of Maye’s weapons available in the passing game going forward.
McDaniels, however, didn’t give away much in terms of how much he would have to make adjustments to account for having two new linemen in front of his quarterback.
Whatever way McDaniels opts to deal with having backups on his quarterback’s blindside, it still falls on Maye to make it work and save the day.
That part of the equation should alleviate some of the worry and uneasiness about the upcoming matchup with the Giants.
Whether McDaniels has Maye adopt more of a quick passing game, or has him use his legs to roll out to avoid pressure, there’s confidence in that.
He’s proven he can adapt and make plays under any scenario, no matter what the defense presents.
Since Week 4, Maye has delivered time and again. Can he, will he, once again? Looking at the evidence over the course of the first 12 weeks, there isn’t much to suggest that he won’t.
