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.
2. New York's defense will hold the Panthers under 80 rushing yards
Last week, we saw the NY Giants' run defense absolutely shut down the Lions' run game, holding them to just 97 yards on 33 carries and one touchdown. This time around, we expect similar dominance, as the Panthers have a much worse offensive line that will get eaten alive by the Giants' incredible defensive line.
Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams don't even have to play a single snap and it wouldn't matter. We know this because that was the case last week, and we saw guys like Tashawn Bower and Brandin Bryant step up. Will we some A'Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches vs. Carolina? We certainly hope so.
The Giants defensive line was recently ranked the No. 1 unit in the NFL by ESPN. Hey, we're not going to argue with that at all. When fully healthy, the D-line for the G-Men is simply fantastic, with Lawrence leading the way for things.
The hope is that Sexy Dexy, Williams and other key players will see some playing time vs. the Panthers. If they set the tone early, it could be a long night for the Carolina offense. With Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeex Ojulari being other guys to watch as well, it should be a fun night for the NY defensive front.
1. Daniel Jones and other Giants stars will impress while in action
Against the Lions last week, most of the Giants starters on both sides of the ball sat out. This was expected, as you don't usually see star players out there to start off the preseason. Now, though, the playmakers will be ready to light up the stage at MetLife Stadium vs. the Panthers.
Quarterback Daniel Jones should lead the offense out onto the field on Friday night - with that, you'd think that Saquon Barkley, Darren Waller, Isaiah Hodgins, Darius Slayton and others will be ready to join him. Jones obviously won't play the entire game. Look for Tyrod Taylor and Tommy DeVito to take the majority of the snaps.
DeVito was fantastic against the Lions in last week's loss, highlighted by his touchdown pass to Tommy Sweeney. As nice as that was, fans in East Rutherford are going to want to see Jones, the $160 million man, making plays with Week 1 of the regular season inching closer and closer. Jones may only play a handful of series, but Big Blue supporters will gladly take it.
The night will be made even more sweet if Danny Dimes finds Waller in the end zone. The expectations are high for those two entering the '23 campaign. A nice score vs. Carolina would only get people even more hyped up about their potential than they are now.
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