|
Giants (2-7) Panthers (2-7)
Last Sunday the Carolina Panthers won their
second game of the season. It was a close come from behind 23-22 win over the
New Orleans Saints.
The Giants lost their last game to the Washington Commanders
27-22. The Commanders scored first, and never gave up the lead. The Giants scored
a field goal and two touchdowns in the second half, but it wasn't enough.
Carolina Panthers
The
Carolina Panthers have never won a Super Bowl. They have been there twice after
the 2003 and 2015 seasons. In that last year, Ron Rivera was the head coach, and
Cam Newton was the quarterback. Carolina's 15-1 record was the best they had ever
had, and last year they were 2-15. In 2019 Rivera was let go midseason, and Matt
Rhule and Frank Reich suffered that same fate. Dave Canales, who was Tampa Bay's
offensive coordinator, was signed by the Panthers to be the 2024 head coach.
As for quarterbacks, Newton was released after the 2019 season, and Teddy Bridgewater
was the starter for 2020. Sam Darnold took over in 2021, and when he was injured,
Newton was brought back. The following year Baker Mayfield was brought in, and
he and Darnold, and backup P. J. Walker, all started games.
In 2023 the Panthers
traded a receiver, and some draft picks to the Chicago Bears to move up in the
draft. They secured quarterback Bryce Young with their for the first overall pick.
They also signed Andy Dalton to a two year contract. Darnold and Mayfield may
not be regretting the decisions the Panthers have made.
Carolina Panthers Offense
Last year Bryce Young's career got off to a poor start. The rookie quarterback's
record as a starter was 2-14. Working behind a poor offensive line, he was sacked
62 times, and threw 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The team was last in total
offense and points, averaging 14 per game. This year Young was benched after a
poor 0-2 start in which he threw 3 interceptions to no touchdowns. Andy Dalton
stepped in, won the next game, and lost the following four. Young got the next
start when Dalton injured his throwing hand in a car accident. He lost that game
against the Broncos, and won last week against the division rival Saints. The
passing attack this year has not improved much, and they just traded away wide
receivers Diontae Johnson and Jonathan Mingo for draft pick improvements.
Johnson led the team with the most receptions, and he had 3 touchdowns. Rookie
wide receiver Xavier Lege has 4 touchdown catches. Running backs Chuba Hubbard
and Miles Sanders have accounted for 42 of the teams rushing first downs. Hubbard
led the team last year with 238 carries for 902 yards, and 5 touchdowns, and was
also in the mix with his receiving skills. Hubbard has caught 1 touchdown to add
to his 5 rushing touchdowns. Hubbard's rushing average is 5 yards a carry, and
he is fifth in the NFL with 665 rushing yards. Hubbard and Sanders have seen more
passes come their way this year, and that should continue as they are easy outlets
available for Young to throw to. Carolina
Panthers Defense
This
defense has taken a big step back from last year where they were ranked 4th in
the league, giving up an overall average 294 yards a game. That number has jumped
to 392, with their passing defense taking the biggest hit. They were dead last,
coming up with 27 sacks on the year, and have just 10 in these first nine games.
Of course points matter the most, and with them giving up over a touchdown more
per game this season, they are in last place surrendering 32.6 points on average.
Linebacker
Brian Burns gave them 8 sacks last year, but they traded him to the Giants this
offseason for a second round draft pick. Charles Harris, signed by the Panthers
after the first game of the season, currently leads the team with 3 sacks. The
one he came up with against the Saints helped kill their last drive, as they tried
to get into field goal range to win the game. The upfront group will be tested
by the Giants, as they gave up 155 rushing yards to running back Alvin Kamara
last week. It was also the fifth time they've given up over 170 total rushing
yards in a game.
It looks like the Panthers will be activating edge rusher
D.J. Wonnum for the first time. Wonnum had 8 sacks with the Minnesota Vikings
last year, and was on the physically unable to perform list after offseason quadriceps
surgery. Wonnum will be anxious to show what he can do to get the Panthers pass
rush going along with Jadeveon Clowney and Harris. Safety Jordan Fuller had been
on IR with a hamstring injury for a number of games. He has been activated for
this game, though he's listed as questionable. NY
Giants Offense
Despite
the additions the Giants have made to the offensive line this year, the results
have remained mostly the same on their scoreboard. They continue to hover around
the 15 point range per game. In the last four games they've lost, it's been even
lower. The way the Panthers have been giving away points that could change this
week. The Giants also look to be having Evan Neal start for the first time this
year in his right tackle spot. That would mean
that Jermaine Eluemunor would move over to left tackle in place of Chris Hubbard.
It's not Eluemunor's standard position, but Hubbard has not done well filling
in for Andrew Thomas, who is out for the season.
Running back Tyrone Tracy
is getting most of the carries now, and could have a big game against the Panthers
poor run defense. Tracy ran for 145 yards on Pittsburgh two weeks ago. Brian Daboll
keyed on that, and he used Tracy and Devin Singletary effectively against the
Commanders. Along with Jones, the Giants had accumulated 142 rushing yards by
halftime last week. However, their five time consuming drives had resulted in
1 touchdown, and the Commanders had scored 3 touchdowns on their four drives.
Down 21-7, Daboll abandoned that rushing attack in the second half. After falling
behind, he saw the yards were not adding up to getting the points that they needed.
This week the Giants will be without Darius Slayton, who is in the NFL concussion
protocol, and he remained back in New Jersey. Jalin Hyatt will see more playing
time, and he and Malik Nabers should be able to make some big plays if Jones actually
has time to throw. That could happen up against this Panthers defense they will
be facing. Giants Defense
What
is in the minds of the Giants defense, knowing that the Panthers are actively
selling off wide receivers even though their passing game is in the - we won't
say it. We will say watch out for the run. The Panthers rushing offense was ranked
20th last year, led by Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders. Both of these running
backs are capable of breaking off big plays, and that has been a weakness this
defense has succumbed to. They'll also have to be prepared for running back Jonathan
Brooks, the Panthers second round draft choice. Brooks might be on the field for
the first time this year after recovering from surgery to repair his ACL.
One advantage the Giants have is that linebacker Brian Burns was with the Panthers
up until the start of this year. Burns is very familiar with many of the players
on the team. That would include struggling quarterback Bryce Young. You can figure
Burns will be sure to fill in defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux and defensive tackle
Dexter Lawrence, on what to expect from Young and the Panthers offensive line.
The Giants gave up some big pass plays last week, but the Panthers have not yet
shown that they can count on that. They will try to get passes to tight end Ja'Tavion
Sanders who has 24 on 30 targets for 245 yards, an average of just over 10 yards
a catch. Overall
The Giants have lost four straight games, and
the Carolina Panthers are coming off a win. The way this season has gone, both
teams will be evaluating some of their players in this game. The Giants are unbeaten
in games they've played in Europe, 3-0. The Giants went on to the playoffs after
each of those season wins, which included winning Super Bowl XLII. You can't argue
with football stats, so think about it. If the Giants win this game, they should
be back on track for the rest of the season. NFC
East Games
Sunday at 9:30am Giants (2-7)
at Panthers (2-7)
Sunday at 1:00pm Steelers (6-2) at Commanders (7-2)
Sunday
at 4:20pm Eagles (6-2) at Cowboys (3-5).
The Giants, Commanders, and Eagles
are the NFC East teams favored to win in these games.
Check out.
Giants
On The Air. Listen to the Radio Broadcasts.
TeamGiants on Twitter.
Next Games
Nov 24 Buccaneers at Giants
Nov
28 Giants at Cowboys
|
