After a week one that saw them pull at an upset over the Tennessee Titans, the New York Giants head back home to East Rutherford. Awaiting them on Sunday are the Carolina Panthers, who Baker Mayfield leads at quarterback. Facing off against his former team in week one, the Panthers lost on a game-winning field goal. More importantly, the Giants look to ride the momentum from their win against Tennessee and start 2-0 since 2016.
Here are the keys to beating the Panthers.
Run. The. Football.
All you need to know about Carolina’s run defense is that Browns running back Nick Chubb ran for 141 yards and Kareem Hunt for 46. In all, 217 rushing yards were amassed by Cleveland against the Panthers.
Keeping that in mind, the New York Football Giants ran all over the Titans for 238 yards. With Saquon Barkley leading the team with 164 yards, the game plan is simple: give him the rock.
Let’s face it: Saquon looks as healthy as ever, and his speed and burst look like what we saw of him during his rookie season. With this offensive line bound to improve every single week, Barkley could put on another outstanding performance on the ground.
Don’t forget about Daniel Jones, who Brian Daboll will design option runs for. Six carries for 25 yards isn’t much, but Jones was the second leading rusher on the team last week. Capable of making plays with his legs, the Panthers will not sleep on him.
Matt Breida looked decent with 24 rushing yards on his own, and I won’t be surprised if he gets more carries against Carolina to give Barkley a break at times. In all, focusing a game plan around running the ball will be key to starting 2-0.
Unleash The Beast
When I mean beast, I mean defensive coordinator Wink Martindale. Known for his blitz-heavy scheme, we didn’t see many of those plays against Tennessee. Despite acquiring only one sack against the Titans, don’t expect him to stick to the game plan like last week. If anything, we are going to see Big Blue get to the quarterback many, many times.
The Browns sacked Baker Mayfield four times, led by Myles Garrett‘s two sacks. Carolina’s offensive line ranked 24th heading into this season. They should be placed much lower on the rankings now after their horrendous performance. Why? Well…
The Carolina Panthers: pic.twitter.com/bViN2NGGpX
— Olave Bettah ➐ (@KamaraBettah) September 13, 2022
Now it makes sense why Cleveland was able to get Mayfield four times.
In all seriousness, the Giants need to take advantage of Carolina’s offensive line and get to the quarterback if they want to win this game. It helps that Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari could return this week after missing the opening game. Ojulari led the team in sacks last year, and Thibodeaux showed in preseason he will wreak havoc when given the chance.
If both miss out, expect Jihad Ward to contribute mightily to Martindale’s defense. Tomon Fox should be mentioned, too, as he had the team’s only sack of the game last week. Also, this defense is likely going to play with a chip on their shoulder after Mayfield said this about the Giants’ drafting of Daniel Jones.
“I cannot believe the Giants took Daniel Jones.” “It blows my mind. Some people overthink it. That’s where people go wrong. They forget you’ve gotta win.”
— The Entertainah (@DaEntertainah85) September 14, 2022
– Baker Mayfield
If Daboll is looking to motivate the Giants this week he doesn’t have to look hard. Prove him wrong DJ!
Also, we cannot forget what Christian McCaffery brings to the table. Ignore his subpar performance of 33 rushing yards last week. In open space, he will take advantage and gain big yardage. The linebacker corps led by Tae Crowder must contain him and force the Panthers to be one-dimensional.
Giants Separate Themselves From The Rest
At the moment, 49ers’ wide receiver Deebo Samuel leads the league with 5.1 yards of separation when running his routes. The closest eligible Giant is Richie James, with three yards. This needs to change.
Consider the fact that the Panthers will focus on preventing big plays by Saquon Barkley. The Giants have average WR play from their guys against Tennessee, and they need to step up. Kenny Golladay must improve from his 22 receiving yards, and Sterling Shepard needs more than two receptions. If Wan’Dale Robinson is unable to go, then James needs to continue to get open for Daniel Jones.
The theme is simple: the wide receivers need to not let Carolina’s corners stay onto them.
Prediction: New York Giants 31, Panthers 10
An offensive outburst is coming for the Giants. The only question is whether it will be because of another big performance by Saquon Barkley or Daniel Jones. The New York Giants defense will ruin Baker Mayfield’s day, and Big Blue will start the 2022 season 2-0.
Who knows? Maybe Daniel Jones will get another catch.
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