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NFL Game of the Week: Carolina Panthers at New York Giants
- NFL 2022 Stats
- NFL 2022 odds and predictions
- Carolina Panthers at New York Giants projections
Inform your NFL predictions ahead of the biggest matches this season with Mark Taylor's Game of the Week. This week, the New York Giants host the Carolina Panthers.
Panthers (0-1) vs. Giants (1-0): Odds at a glance
Two NFC fourth-placed divisional sides from 2021 meet on Sunday looking to improve on a 5-12 season for the visiting Panthers and just four wins for the host Giants.
In the season opener, Carolina succumbed to a late field goal against the Cleveland Browns led by a stand-in quarterback, while the Giants overturned a first half where they failed to trouble the scoreboard.
They eventually won by a single point after opting for a two-point conversion, rather than settling for overtime against the Tennessee Titans.
Both will take some encouragement from week one, without fooling themselves into thinking a corner has been fully turned.
Poor passing accuracy and inefficiency blighted the Panthers in 2021, as head coach Matt Rhule tried multiple quarterbacks with little success.
New arrival Baker Mayfield secured the starting role in the training camp and although he shares some of the inaccuracy of previous starters, he does push the ball deeper downfield on a more consistent basis and will improve Carolina’s passing range. Despite early miscues and sacks in week one, Mayfield was still an upgrade from most of Carolina’s passing efforts from 2021.
The Panthers were a better running team than passing team in 2021, albeit they were still far from elite. They averaged four yards per carry, but it came against opposition who on average allowed 4.3 yards per carry.
Failure to get into second or third and short positions, and consistently trailing on the scoreboard forced their throwing arm and that was also the case in week one.
If Mayfield improves the passing game, it will help the ground game, specifically their star running back, Christian McCaffrey, who saw little of the ball on the ground throughout week one, but will surely see more of the football in matches that remain close for longer.
Carolina had a league-average defense in 2021, both aerially and on the ground, but their rejigged run defense struggled to exert pressure in week one and conceded big chunks of yardage at 5.7 yards per rush attempt.
The New York Giants are projected to improve on their 4-13 2021 season and there’s now even the potential to make the postseason following divisional rivals Dallas’ week one injury woes at quarterback.
The Giants have been fishing in the same lowly passing talent pool as their rivals on Sunday. Sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft, Daniel Jones has made minimal improvement in his three injury-interrupted seasons in the league. He’s ranked in the low to mid-20’s for quarterbacks, vying with Carolina for the NFL’s least efficient passing team in 2021.
But Jones made the offense multi-dimensional at times in week one, despite lots of first-half pressure, under the guidance of Brian Daboll, who is fresh from running Buffalo’s league-leading offense.
Injury has been a constant in recent years for the Giants, notably for Jones and running back Saquon Barkley who was Rookie of the Year in 2018, but was inactive for most of 2020. Barkley carved through the Titans’ defense in week one as the Giants emerged from a sluggish start to seal a gutsy win against last season’s number one AFC seed in Tennessee.
If Barkley stays fit enough to display the talent and elusiveness he undoubtedly had prior to his injury and Jones also avoids the treatment room and begins to play better, the Giants will be a huge upgraded offense in 2022.
Defensively, the Giants shared a 2021 mid-table ranking with the Panthers. They were better against the pass, limiting sides who on average gained 6.7 yards per attempt to just 6.3 yards per pass attempt. Although they were below par against the run.
It’s an intriguing matchup, featuring two teams who gave generously to the opposition via turnovers, taking little back in return in 2021. There’s no major injury concerns for either side on Sunday and so we’ll see two offenses that may be finally showing signs of emerging from a period of stagnation.
Last season we would have expected to see a defensive battle with few points scored and the Giants winning a low-scoring game by around a field goal. And while the Giants’ new head coach hasn’t instantly transformed Daniel Jones into Josh Allen, there was eventually enough of a ground and aerial double punch to suggest they are ahead of Carolina’s gentle upward curve.
Look for the Giants to dominate Carolina on the ground, as Cleveland did in week one, and edge a close game, covering the current 2.5 spread by winning 21-17.
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