The Panthers struggling defense faces another struggling offense in this special game from Germany.
After being generally atrocious all season aside from the Raiders game, the Panthers defense had itself a solid performance against the Saints last week. I use the word “solid” loosely, as they still allowed almost 200 yards on the ground. However, Derek Carr struggled throwing the ball, with an 18 completions on 31 attempts for 236 yards and 1 TD. This week, the Panthers face another offense struggling to be effective, as the Giants as a whole rank dead last in points per game across the league, 26th in yards per game, and 27th in yards per play. Let’s dive into the keys this week.
Jaycee Horn vs Malik Nabers is a marquee matchup
Jaycee Horn has played either extremely well or at least solid in every game this season. However, on a struggling defense surrounding him he hasn’t been able to make a huge impact. This week, he faces off against rookie top pick Malik Nabers, who in 7 games played has amassed 84 targets for 55 receptions, 557 yards and 3 TDs. For context, that means Nabers is averaging 12 targets per game when healthy. This is going to be an important matchup for Horn, as Nabers has appeared to be as advertised to warrant his top 10 draft status.
A decent matchup for the run defense
The Giants rushing offense is currently a committee, with rookie Tyrone Tracy leading the team with 442 yards rushing for 2 TDs and sporting a 5.0 yards per carry figure. He’s split time with veteran Devin Singletary and 2023 5th round pick Eric Gray. The Panthers rushing defense has not been good this season, but with the Giants relative struggles with scoring points and moving the ball, they may have a shot at containing this rushing attacks and forcing Daniel Jones to win the game.
Contain and isolate Daniel Jones
Daniel Jones will always have the scrambling element to his game, but overall he’s been very average as a starting quarterback this season. He has completed 194/304 attempts for 1,880 yards, 8 TDs, and 5 interceptions. He’s added 239 yards on the ground on 60 carries, and has been stacked 27 times. The Giants are towards the bottom of the league in QB stacked % per play as well. The Panthers pass rush has struggled but the defense as a whole has started to come up with more negative plays in recent weeks. They may still struggle to find turnovers, but this matchup is ripe for the picking for a scheme heavy blitz game plan to force Jones into uncomfortable situations.
What do you expect from the defense this week, Panthers fans?