Keys for a New York Giants Win Against the Carolina Panthers
The New York Giants will host the Carolina Panthers—the NFL’s current giants who at 13-0 are looking to wrap up home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win Sunday.
The Giants, meanwhile, are going to be looking to pull off an improbable win—a win that would sure go a long way toward helping their playoff chances.
On paper, the Giants just don’t seem to match up very well against the Panthers, though the same was probably said when they played against the Patriots in the last three games or so (yes, including postseason).
Let’s take a look at five keys for the Giants if they hope to pull off the upset of the year in what would be a huge game that just might spark a playoff run.
'Good Eli' Needs to Show Up
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No matter what kind of system he’s in, quarterback Eli Manning is still a gunslinger at heart—a guy who’s going to take chances as he sees them in hopes of helping his team win.
But if the Giants are to win, they need for Manning to be smart with the ball—plain and simple.
Per Pro Football Focus, the Giants are 3-3 in games in which Manning throws for multiple touchdowns and zero interceptions; however, two of those losses (New Orleans and New England) were more on the defense than they were on Manning and the offense.
Of course, Manning is only going to be as good as his protection. This year, he’s completed just 50.7 percent of his pass attempts when under duress, according to PFF—partially because of his willingness to take risks with the ball.
Taking risks against the Panthers defense is ill-advised, as giving the Panthers good starting field position is asking for trouble.
Keep Odell Beckham Jr. Away from Josh Norman
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Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo smirked a bit when asked if he might have to scheme around Panthers shutdown cornerback Josh Norman, who figures to line up across from Odell Beckham Jr.
“We’re going to play our game. We’re not going to shy away from anybody,” McAdoo said. “We’ll pick our spots at times, but we’re not going to back down from any challenges.”
The bravado is nice, but with the season potentially on the line, it's all about getting the best matchups possible on every down.
For as good as Beckham has been, the Giants can ill afford to roll the dice and hope that the Beckham-Norman matchup favors their side, not with what's at stake.
According to Pro Football Focus, Beckham has been targeted 31.7 percent of the time when he’s been in the slot, but he has only scored two of his 12 touchdowns this season from that spot. So why not run Beckham from the slot a little more often if it means getting him open and getting him the ball?
True, the numbers would suggest that Beckham is unlikely to score if he works from the slot, but since when did it become a rule that he has to be the one to score all the time for the Giants?
Keep QB Cam Newton in the Pocket
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As hard it might be, think back to last year’s Giants game against Seattle in which the Seahawks rushed for a whopping 350 yards on 45 carries, with 114 of those yards coming via quarterback Russell Wilson's legs.
Why was Wilson so successful? Easy. The Giants didn’t protect the edges and did a poor job with contain and gap control, which left Wilson with ridiculous amounts of space to exploit.
Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, like Wilson, is a threat to run that read-option, and if there is any doubt about his success, consider that his 480 rushing yards on 111 carries is second on the team, per PFF, behind Jonathan Stewart whom the Panthers announced will not play this weekend.
The Giants’ run defense this year has had its moments—both good and bad. Currently ranked 16th in the league (110.2 yards per game), the Giants’ fundamental game plan against Newton the runner is simple: do everything that wasn’t done against Wilson the year prior.
Simply put, Newton can burn a defense either between the tackles or on the edges. Discipline is going to be key as if a defender should prematurely abandon his gap, Newton is all but certain to exploit it.
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Limit TE Greg Olsen's Production
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There’s probably no two dirtier words to the Giants defense than “tight end.”
Rightfully so, as for the longest time, opposing tight ends have made mincemeat out of the Giants' back seven, with this year being no exception.
According to Football Outsiders, the Giants are ranked 22nd in the league against opposing tight ends, to whom they’ve yielded 76.8 yards per game.
Well, guess what? The Panthers leading receiver is their tight end, Greg Olsen, who has 65 receptions for 969 yards and six touchdowns. That breaks down to an average of 80.7 yards per game for the 6’5” Olsen.
So how do the Giants stop Olsen when earlier this year, they couldn’t stop New England’s Rob Gronkowski (five catches for 113 yards and one touchdown), Dallas’ Jason Witten and Buffalo’s Charles Clay, with the latter two their respective team’s receiving leaders against the Giants?
It’s going to be tough—New York will be missing linebacker Devon Kennard (foot), who will be subbed by the slower-footed Mark Herzlich, while J.T. Thomas is still dealing with a bum ankle.
The matchup isn’t a good one for the Giants at all, so the only hope they appear to have in limiting the damage that Olsen is capable of inflicting on an opponent is to disrupt Newton’s attempts to him.
That means, among other things, the defensive linemen need to get their hands up if they should find themselves stonewalled in their attempt to rush the passer.
Get RB Shane Vereen More Involved
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The Panthers run defense is currently ranked fourth in the NFL, allowing 84.6 yards per game to opponents. Per Pro Football Focus, this is a team that has a whopping 321 stops (solo defensive tackles for zero or negative yardage, including sacks), with defensive tackle Kawann Short and middle linebacker Luke Kuechly leading the way.
The Giants' running game? It’s still ranked 29th and is averaging 88.4 yards per game, which would suggest it’s not the best matchup against a stout Panthers defensive front.
If the Giants want to be able to run the ball, they might just have to get Shane Vereen more involved than the 8.8 average times he’s had some sort of touch.
Toss a little flare pass or try to get him out in space—that’s supposedly why he was signed by this team, after all, right? By getting Vereen more involved, that could potentially open the door for more options to help move the ball.
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.
Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.
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