For a 2-10 football team, the New York Giants certainly are an interesting, entertaining group. What will happen on Monday when they meet the 10-2 New England Patriots in Foxboro, Mass.? Here are five storylines to pay attention to.
Will Jaxson Dart be at QB for the Giants?
The rookie quarterback practices in full on Wednesday. That does not mean he is playing on Monday. As of Wednesday night, Dart was still in the concussion protocol.
As well as Jameis Winston has played in two games, and as much fun as Winston is to both watch and to be around, it is best for the Giants if Dart plays. If he clears the protocol, interim head coach Mike Kafka has promised that will be the case.
As impressive as Dart was before his concussion, he is still a rookie. Practice and game snaps are still invaluable. To be fair to Kafka as he bids for the full-time head-coaching job, the more ownership gets to see the on-field product with a Dart-Kafka partnership, the more information they will when it comes to making a decision on Kafka’s future.
Charlie Bullen’s impact on the Giants’ defense
How much impact can interim defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen have on the Giants’ woefully under-performing defense in just seven days? That’s a good question, since on-field offseason work for the 2025 Giants began way back in April.
Interim head coach Mike Kafka fired Shane Bowen as defensive coordinator when it became apparent to him that Bowen’s predictability and lack of aggression were not going to yield the desired results.
Kafka appears to want a team that tries to take what it wants rather than sits back and hopes for something good to happen.
“When it’s nut cutting time, when it’s time down at the end of the game, when we got to make a play, we’re going to be aggressive to go make the play to win it,” Kafka said this week.
Can Bullen deliver? He has coached under Vance Joseph of the Denver Broncos and Matt Burke of the Houston Texans, coordinators who run two of the league’s best defenses. Giants edge defender Brian Burns says the 41-year-old Bullen will “shoot it straight.”
Bullen will have to do something about the league’s worst defense, which gives up 5.9 yards per rushing attempt. Run fits, setting the edge, inability to dominate the line of scrimmage and a seeming lack of urgency have all been issues.
The Giants might catch a bit of a break this week. New England placed starting left tackle Will Campbell on injured reserve this week, and starting left guard Jared Wilson will miss the game with a high ankle sprain. Starting right tackle Morgan Moses also missed Wednesday’s practice.
Rookie edge defender Abdul Carter has fancy peripheral numbers, but he has only a half-sack and has not been the disruptive game-changer the Giants thought they were getting with the No. 3 overall pick.
Injuries won’t make Bullen’s job easier. Cornerback Paulson Adebo has missed five straight games with a knee injury. Kayvon Thibodeaux might be heading toward a third straight missed game with a shoulder injury. Dexter Lawrence is again dealing with elbow issues and did not practice on Wednesday.
If Bullen can get whatever players are available to play with more attention to detail and deliver the aggression Kafka wants that will be a start.
The Giants have not won a road game since Week 5 of last season, Oct. 6, 2024, when they defeated the Seattle Seahawks 29-20. Monday will mark 421 days since that victory, and there have been 12 road losses since then.
Five times this season the Giants have established double-digit leads on the road, frittered those leads away, and lost. Most of that has been the inability of the defense to do its job late in games.
We will see if the Kafka-Bullen combo is able to do anything about that.
What’s the deal with Dexter Lawrence, Paulson Adebo, Kayvon Thibodeaux?
All season long there has been an undercurrent around Lawrence wondering if he was dealing with lingering effects of the dislocated elbow that ended his 2024 season. Now that we know Lawrence was limited Sunday against the Detroit Lions because of that same elbow, it is logical to believe that has been the case.
Lawrence did not practice on Wednesday because of the elbow. Whether he will practice Friday or Saturday or, more importantly, play Monday is unknown.
Kafka said only that the Giants were “being smart” with Lawrence.
Edge defender Kayvon Thibodeaux (shoulder) did not practice on Wednesday. If he isn’t ready Monday night, this will be three straight missed games for Thibodeaux. If cornerback Paulson Adebo (knee) doesn’t play that will be six missed games in a row for him.
That is a lot of talent missed from a defense that did not play close to well enough when it was at full health.
Are Patriots a window into the Giants’ future?
The Patriots were 4-13 in 2023, the final year of the Bill Belichick era. They were 4-13 again in 2024 during the disastrous one-year reign of Jerod Mayo as head coach.
This year, the Patriots are 10-2 with nine straight victories and looking like they might cruise unchallenged to the AFC East title.
The big difference? Head coach Mike Vrabel, of course. New England landed its leader when Vrabel was hired. Vrabel brought instant credibility as both a winning player and coach, and the ability to set a standard and hold players to it.
The Giants are desperate for that. There is an organizational belief that they are not a 2-10 team, that the roster is better than that and that the coaching has not gotten the maximum performance from the players.
When the Giants look across the field at the 2025 Patriots, they will be looking at the team they hope to emulate in 2026.
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