Patriots stripped of chance to stick it to the Giants in the best way possible

The narrative surrounding the New England Patriots' 2025 season will continue into their Week 13 matchup on Monday Night Football, as they welcome the 2-10 New York Giants to Gillette Stadium for what most believe will be a dominant showing by the home team in a very winnable game.

That was also the expectation going against the Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Trey Hendrickson-less Bengals team this past weekend, only for the Patriots to sneak out with a win by just a field goal to reach a nine-game win streak.

They'll now shift their focus to the Giants, who have already fired their head coach and are trying to get back on track for the rest of the season. But the Patriots won't have the luxury of really sticking it to their longtime foes, as their loss to the Lions on Sunday officially eliminated them from the playoffs this season.

That would've been something to remind us of the good days.

Instead, they'll have another goal in mind, beyond just winning a game before finally going into their bye week, and maybe that will be just as fun.

The Patriots have a shot to add another road loss to an already abysmal Giants record this season

The Giants have been a disastrous franchise for far too long, and Patriots fans will always wish this had happened during the years they beat New England in the Super Bowl, rather than now.

However, the reality is that they are a head coach-less team hoping to scrape out a few wins before the season is over, which looked possible with Jameis Winston under center this week, as they were up by 10 points for a while, only to lose again on the road.

They will now go into their matchup against the Patriots, having lost every road game this season, and that means Drake Maye and Co. will want to extend that to eight on Monday night.

Just to be sure nothing crazy happens, they should also make sure not to allow them to gain any sort of lead at any point in the game. Hopefully, that's possible, even if Winston plays for Jaxson Dart.

Considering the kind of performance he had against the Lions, recording 18/36 completions for 366 yards and two touchdowns, plus he also made a touchdown as a receiver, they might be better off if the rookie is able to return to the lineup next week.

Although Winston's efforts ultimately meant nothing, the Patriots' defense could be carved up if Winston suits up, especially early in the game, when they have the unfortunate trend of allowing opposing offenses to score on opening drives.

No matter who is in at quarterback for New York, the Patriots should leave Week 13 with another win, and it looks like they have some added motivation to do so, even if it doesn't result in formally eliminating them from the playoffs.