Following the NY Giants' somewhat disappointing preseason opening loss to the Lions, Big Blue is looking to bounce back strong against the much weaker Carolina Panthers. While ultimately, the preseason is meaningless, it would still be nice to see the Giants pick up some momentum heading into the campaign.
This game vs. Carolina likely won't be a shootout by any means, but fans should expect to see an exciting game nonetheless. With that said, here's our three main predictions ahead of the Friday night matchup vs. Bryce Young and Co.
3. The offensive line will bounce back
In the loss to Detroit, the offensive line, outside of John Michael Schmitz, looked terrible. While the Lions may not have a top-heavy defensive line like the Panthers, where they succeed is depth, something the Panthers are somewhat lacking in.
Everyone knows the Panthers' star defensive linemen are Brian Burns and Derrick Brown. However, they likely won't be playing too much this game, if at all. Once they make their exit, there's no reason that the Giants' offensive line depth won't be able to do their job in pass protection and run blocking. Aside from Brown and Burns, the Panthers' defensive line doesn't feature much to be worried about.
The Giants starters should be seeing more time in this one too, which is only going to help the offensive unit up front. While it's unknown if Evan Neal (just cleared concussion protocol) will play, we should see the rest of the stud hosses put the pads on and go to work in the trenches.
Who knows how long they'll be out there, but Andrew Thomas looks ready to take the field. After signing his massive contract, Thomas, a Second Team All-Pro LT in 2022, has people fired up about what he'll be able to get done this campaign.