The offense tries to string together consecutive not bad appearances.
The Carolina Panthers offense was good enough to beat the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. I hesitate to call them ‘good,’ because they weren’t particularly efficient in any one area. However, Bryce Young was able to lead four scoring drives, three of which ended the endzone, and that was enough to hold on against a crumbing New Orleans Saints. It’s the type of performance that will win a few games here and there, especially against other bad teams.
Well wouldn’t you know it, we’ve got another bad team on the docket this week. Bryce Young will be starting again this week. We know that because some reporters are incessant about asking head coach Dave Canales about the quarterback situation at every single press conference. He probably deserves it. He’s played well enough that he’s not hamstringing the offense like he was in the first two weeks, and it’s nice to get a full and comprehensive evaluation of him through two seasons. The Panthers could also be adding rookie running back Jonathon Brooks, but it remains to be see if he’ll be dressed for the game.
The opponent is the New York Giants, who according to DVOA have been even worse than the Saints over the course of the full season. They’re 2-7 but can be sneaky competitive when quarterback Daniel Jones randomly decides to have a good game. They’re coming off competitive loss to the Steelers and Commanders. The defense has some bright spots, so let’s talk about how the Panthers can get past those and put together a winning performance.
- Protect the quarterback. If there’s one thing the Giants do well, it’s get after the quarterback. They lead the NFL with 35 sacks through nine games, and they have three players in the top 20 in the league—Dexter Lawrence (9 sacks), Azeez Ojulari (6), and Brian Burns (5). The Panthers have done a good job of protecting Young in recent weeks, even against the league’s second most potent pass rush in the Broncos. That needs to hold true this week as well. Young’s also been better with his pocket presence. He can’t revert to his rookie self where he was panicky in the pocket and running into sacks.
- Get the ball in the hands of the outside playmakers. The Giants have one of the worst pass defenses in the league even with their ferocious pass rush. They allow the third worst opponent passer rating and the sixth most yards per pass attempt. They only have one interception on the season. Nickel cornerback Dru Phillips has been one of the better corners in the league according to PFF, but outside corners Cor’Dale Flott and Deonte Banks haven’t graded out as well. All of them have been prone to missed tackles, so if the Panthers can get the ball out to playmakers outside, there’s a good chance to break some tackles and eat up chunks of yards.
- Generate explosives in the run game. That tackling issue I mentioned above rears itself in the run game as well. The Giants allow 5.2 yards per carry, worst in the league. Chuba Hubbard has been reliable and consistent, but he hasn’t popped off many huge runs. It’d be nice to see him get one or two this week. If Jonathon Brooks plays, it’s a great opportunity to get his career off on the right foot.