Giants Week 13 Preview: Can New DC Charlie Bullen Have to Slow Down Patriots Offense?

Let's size up the Patriots offense.

New York Giants outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen takes over as the team's defensive coordinator this week. | John Jones-Imagn Images

The New York Giants defense has seen a recent change in leadership with the firing of defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.

Outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen will replace Bowen as the defensive play-caller against the New England Patriots. What is he up against in his first assignment as a defensive coordinator?

Personnel

The Patriots have their franchise quarterback in Drake Maye, who’s had a dominant second season with 3,130 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, and just six interceptions, posting a 71% completion rate.

Maye is someone we spoke about when the Giants were considering drafting him in the 2024 NFL Draft. He was our staff's choice as QB1 during that draft cycle.

What showed up on tape in college shows up for him in the NFL: his big arm, decision-making, and mobility.

In the backfield is a duo that we haven’t seen much together, Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson.

The emergence of Henderson in recent weeks felt long anticipated, as he was one of the top running back prospects in the draft this year.

Henderson had never topped 50 yards in a game until the Patriots played the Browns a month ago. Since then, Henderson has had 10+ carries and 55+ yards in every game.

Henderson is an all-around back that has home run ability on any given touch, whereas Stevenson is the hammer of this duo.

Nov 23, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) hands off to running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) in the first quarter at Paycor Stadium. | Sam Greene-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Stevenson has just 284 rushing yards so far this season, although 245 of those yards have come after contact, averaging less than half a yard before contact per carry.

Stefon Diggs was a big addition to this Patriots offense this past offseason and has lived up to that hype to this point, despite many expecting him to fall off.

Diggs has been a bit of a journeyman over the past few years, on his third team in three years, leading people to think it’s because of a lack of talent, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

The wide receiver room in New England isn’t exactly intimidating with Mack Hollins as the second receiver in this offense and Kayshon Boutte as wide receiver three.

Hollins is nothing more than a gimmick, not in a good way, and Boutte is still trying to find his role in the NFL consistently.

The tight ends that Giants fans can expect to see often are Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper, both veterans who can contribute in multiple ways.

Henry has emerged as a big-time part of this passing offense for Maye, ranking second in both receptions and yards so far.

The Patriots' offensive line, from left to right, will be Vederian Lowe, Ben Brown, Garrett Bradbury, Mike Onwenu, and Morgan Moses.

Patriots rookie left tackle Will Campbell was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday, ruling him out for Monday Night Football and the next few weeks at a minimum.

Rookie left guard Jared Wilson will also likely miss this week’s game, leading to Brown getting that start - meaning both offensive linemen on the left side of the line will be backups.

Scheme

The Patriots have one of the heaviest offenses in the NFL, using 12 personnel on 35.09% of their offensive plays, the fifth-highest rate.

Out of 12 personnel, the Patriots are one of the more efficient and effective passing attacks, relying on play-action and personnel to create mismatches.

The Patriots use play-action on 26.7% of their passing plays, tied for the seventh-highest rate in the NFL.

One reason the Patriots' offense is so effective in play-action is their commitment to running the football.

Sep 7, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium. | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

The Patriots run the ball on first down 57.8% of the time, the fourth-highest rate in the NFL.

While their run game hasn’t been as effective as they’d hope, the numbers will tell teams that play-action helps, regardless of whether they have an effective rushing attack, so long as the team is committed to running the ball.

We’ve seen NFL offenses this season lean more on 12 personnel to force defenses to bring more linebackers onto the field just to attack them in the passing game.

Few offenses have been as consistently successful throwing downfield as the Patriots, but that’s the benefit of having a quarterback like Maye at the helm with an offensive scheme that creates those opportunities.

Overview

The Giants have no business even being in this game, given how the two teams have performed in 2025, but ruling them out would be silly.

Maye is a gifted passer, but with a banged-up offensive line, this Giants front should be able to disrupt his rhythm and generate pressure.

With Bullen taking over as defensive coordinator, it will be interesting to see what kind of adjustments he makes compared to how Bowen ran the defense.

I would expect an added emphasis on generating pressure, as most position coaches tend to prioritize their area of expertise when they get the opportunity to call plays.

Add that to the injuries on the offensive line, and the Giants will probably bring out more stunts to take advantage of an offensive line that hasn’t had time to gel.

What happens next with the NY Giants? Find out! Follow and like us on Facebook.Visit our YouTube channelfor the latest videos. Want to send a question in for our mailbag? You can do so here.