Patriots vs. Giants: Injury analysis from NFL Week 13

The New England Patriots celebrated a relatively comfortable 33-15 victory over the New York Giants on Monday night, and will head into their bye week with an 11-2 record and as the No. 1 seed in the AFC. That bye is arriving at a good time for a team that recently had to absorb some injuries.

The game against the Giants also saw some players get shaken up, even though it appears the team avoided any major issues. Let’s assess the damage after rewatching the game.

Patriots injury analysis: Week 13

RB Terrell Jennings: Your classic case of Jennings-on-Jennings crime. Terrell, who had returned a kickoff 39 yards on the game’s first play, sustained a head injury on kick coverage in the late first quarter. He attempted to tackle Giants returner Deonte Banks from behind, but in the process of doing so collided with teammate Anfernee Jennings — a bang-bang play that forced the second-year running back to undergo medical examination in the blue tent on the sidelines. He later left for the locker room and after initially being announced as questionable to return was ruled out with a head injury in the second period.

CB Christian Gonzalez: The Patriots’ star cornerback looked a bit shaken up following Darius Slayton’s 30-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the second quarter. He had slipped while making a tackle attempt from behind. However, he ended up not missing any playing time and showed no limitations whatsoever for the rest of the game.

WR Kayshon Boutte: Also in the second quarter, Kayshon Boutte walked off with a slight limp after catching a short pass from quarterback Drake Maye. He was looked at on the sidelines — all while replacement Kyle Williams caught a 33-yard touchdown — but returned to the game without any visible issues. The third-year man ended up leading all Patriots wide receivers in snaps (49) and was targeted two more times after briefly exiting, catching one pass for 9 yards.

LB Jack Gibbens: Gibbens was announced as “injured during the play” following a run play in the late third quarter, but it looked like an equipment issue more than anything. After one snap on the sideline, he was back in action.

LB Robert Spillane: The Patriots’ starting linebacker had played 100% of defensive snaps in 10 of the Patriots’ 12 games entering Monday, but he was suspiciously absent at times against the Giants and also did not hold court with the media after the game. A reason for concern? No. With the team jumping to a 30-7 halftime lead, the team captain was simply given some rest for a change down the stretch. Something similar happened against the Carolina Panthers earlier in the year.

What this means for the Patriots

The Patriots can feel good about the state of their team entering the bye. Sure, several starters were unavailable against the Giants — LT Will Campbell (knee/IR), LG Jared Wilson (ankle), DT Milton Williams (ankle/IR), DT Khyiris Tonga (chest) — and there were some minor incidents besides Terrell Jennings’ head injury, but all in all the team appears to be trending in a positive direction health-wise.

The bye week is nonetheless coming at an opportune time.

Not only will it allow high-volume players such as the aforementioned Robert Spillane to get some much-needed rest, it also is a chance for players to treat minor injuries and the weekly bumps and bruises that appear. Christian Gonzalez and Kayshon Boutte are prime examples; neither was visibly hampered but still were shaken up at one point versus New York.

They and the rest of the team will now have several days off to get ready for the final four games of the regular season, and what the Patriots hope to be a deep playoff run. Players will be off Wednesday through Sunday, Dec. 7, before returning to the practice fields on Monday, Dec. 8.