GIANTS LOOK TO ENTER BYE ON HIGH NOTE
The midway point of the 2024 season is now in the rearview mirror. Heading into Week 10, the Giants are not where they wanted to be at the start of the season with their 2-7 record. Despite what the record shows, five of the team's seven losses were one-possession games late in the fourth quarter, which highlights the fight that this team has shown for most of the season.
"I think we've got a lot of the right guys that are made of the right DNA," coach Brian Daboll told the media Wednesday afternoon. "Team first players. Again, you're not happy about the results, but you control what you can control, which is the upcoming week. We've got a bunch of guys that do that each and every week."
Through the first nine weeks of the season, the Giants are among the league-leaders in snaps played by rookies. While a big part of this is due to their production on the field, the group of first-year players have also proven to have the right mindset as they get more and more comfortable playing at the NFL level.
"It's important for veterans to have leadership presence, but I'd say our rookies have a lot of leadership in them too," Daboll said. "Again, they're playing a lot of football. They're learning as we go, but they all have the right mindset. I'm pleased with how they act outside the building, inside the building, the work they put in and their skill set. I really enjoy working with these young guys. They're made of the right kind of stuff."
ALL-TIME SERIES
The Giants (2-7) travel to Munich, Germany to take on the Carolina Panthers (2-7) for their first matchup this season against the NFC South on Sunday, Nov. 10 in Allianz Arena. Kickoff is set for 9:30 a.m. ET on NFL Network and locally on WABC.
Sunday's game will be the Giants' fourth trip to Europe and will mark the first time they play a game in Germany. The Giants look to stay undefeated in Europe as they are currently 3-0. The last matchup in Europe was on Oct. 9, 2022, in London, where the Giants defeated the Packers, 27-22.
Sunday's game also marks the 13th matchup between the two teams. The teams last played on Sept. 18, 2022, when the Giants beat the Panthers 19-16, in MetLife Stadium.
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GIANTS EXCITED FOR GERMANY
Sunday's game in Munich will be the second international game for the Giants under coach Brian Daboll, and the franchise's fourth overall. However, all three of the organization's previous international games took place in London. Sunday's game will be just the second NFL regular-season game to take place in Munich and the fourth overall in Germany; the two Germany games last year occurred in Frankfurt.
"We're excited to go over there," quarterback Daniel Jones said. "I think just the one experience I have to look back on is the London trip and just how much energy and excitement there was in that stadium, and the fans and how into it they are. That was a really cool experience. Hoping and expecting kind of the same thing here in Germany. Looking forward to playing in that stadium."
The Giants are 3-0 all-time in international games, with their last victory abroad taking place at Tottenham Stadium in 2022. The Giants got a big win over Aaron Rodgers and the Packers which propelled them to a 4-1 record. The team opted not to have their bye after the trip overseas and returned to East Rutherford to defeat Lamar Jackson and the Ravens the following week. While the Giants will have their bye after this year's international trip, there are still some valuable tips the players and coaches can pick up from the last time they traveled to Europe.
"I mean it's helpful to have done it once and have gone through it," Jones said. "I think, yeah, you know what to do. Try to adjust to the time as much as possible. You're not going to be able to fully get on that time zone, but just traveling, trying to sleep on the way over there and then getting your body back up and running Friday when you get there."
ESTABLISH THE RUN
It was clear heading into last week's game against the Commanders that the Giants' offensive game plan revolved around establishing the run. Quarterback Daniel Jones attempted just six passes in the first half as the Giants leaned heavily on its rushing attack. Jones, Tyrone Tracy and the rest of the Giants' run game combined for 21 carries for 142 yards in the first half alone, good for an average of 6.8 yards per carry.
Tracy once again finished as the Giants' leading rusher with 66 yards on 16 carries (4.1 avg.). The first-year running back has taken advantage of his opportunity since becoming the team's lead back in Week 5. Over the last five weeks, Tracy has three outings with over 100 total yards of offense, two games with an average of more than 7.0 yards per carry, and has found the end zone twice. Despite totaling just 12 rush attempts through the first four games of the season, Tracy leads all rookies in rushing yards (442) along with runs of 20- and 10-plus yards (four and 11, respectively).
The Panthers have struggled on the defensive side of the ball this year, especially when it comes to the run game. Carolina has surrendered 1,434 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground this season, both of which rank as the most in the league. Three of their last four opponents have rushed for more than 195 yards, and only one team has totaled less than 100 rushing yards against the Panthers this season.
BURNS READY TO FACE FORMER TEAM
The Giants' big acquisition this past offseason came in the form of outside linebacker Brian Burns, who was acquired in a trade with the Carolina Panthers. Burns spent his first five seasons with the Panthers, where his 46 sacks across 80 games were tied for the 12th most in the NFL since he entered the league, while his 59 tackles for loss were tied for the sixth-most in that span. Now set to face his former team for the first time, Burns is excited to see a lot of people from the Panthers organization.
"There are a ton of people that I didn't get to talk to before I left," the outside linebacker told the media Wednesday. "Over five years, you build that bond with a lot of people in a lot of different ways. I do have a special connection with some people from the equipment staff, training staff and some of the lunch people. I've just got connections all over that building. So, I can't wait to see them."
On whether or not he has any extra motivation heading into the matchup against his former team, Burns added, "No, like I said, business is business. Business happened. I'm happy where I am. I'm blessed."
Burns was held a sack without a sack in last week's matchup against the Commanders, which snapped a four-game sack streak for the talented edge rusher. His five sacks on the season rank third behind Dexter Lawrence and Azeez Ojulari, while his 35 total pressures lead the team, according to Next Gen Stats.
View photos from the New York Giants' previous regular-season trips to Europe, where they are 3-0.
ROOKIES CONTINUE TO IMPRESS
The Giants' rookie class has undoubtedly played a big role so far this season. Both sides of the ball feature several rookie starters, which has led to the team's first-year players being among the league leaders in playing time. The Giants' rookie class has accounted for 17.9 percent of the team's defensive snaps, the second-highest rate in the league, and 18.4 percent of the offensive snaps, the fifth-highest mark, according to NGS. This has led to the Giants having one of the youngest rosters across the entire NFL.
"They have the right mindset," Daboll said about the rookie class. "They have the right DNA that we look for. And again, you've got to correct some of the things that happened throughout a game and be able to move on to the next play. But have confidence in those young guys, we've got to keep help developing them and keep growing them as the season goes on. When there's good stuff happening and when there's stuff that needs to be improved."
Tracy was already discussed earlier, and while there are numerous other players I could highlight here, I'm going to focus on the first rookie selected in this year's draft. After getting his NFL career off to a scorching start, wide receiver Malik Nabers has totaled just 171 receiving yards across three games since returning from a concussion that sidelined him for two weeks. However, don't let the dip on box score production fool you. According to NGS, Daniel Jones has completed 55 of 82 pass attempts to Nabers this season for 557 yards and three touchdowns, which has generated the third-most EPA (expected points added) among all quarterback-wide receiver duos (+35.0).
Even after missing two games, Nabers is still tied for third in the NFL with 55 receptions, which is the most among all rookie receivers. His +33.2 EPA also leads all first-year wideouts, while his 557 receiving yards ranks second.
GET THE PASS RUSH BACK ON TRACK
For the first time all season, the Giants' defense was held without a sack in last week's loss to the Commanders. Nevertheless, the Giants still lead the NFL with their 35 sacks on the season, four more than any other team, while their 63 quarterback hits rank fourth and sit just three behind the Ravens for the league-lead.
The Giants have registered a 35.0 percent pressure rate on the season, according to Next Gen Stats, which is the 10th in the NFL. Their 44.2 percent pressure rate when blitzing comes in at No. 11. However, the unit's 35.7 percent pressure to sack conversion rate leads all teams. Additionally, the Giants have recorded a sack on a league-leading 12.5 percent of opponents' drop-backs.
Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence leads the team, and ranks second among all NFL defenders, with his nine sacks on the year. He also ranks third among defensive tackles with 28 pressures, according to NGS. The most impressive part about Lawrence's dominance this season is the fact that he's been double-teamed on a league-high 64.6 percent of his pass rushes. In fact, half of his pressures this season have come when double-teamed.
While Lawrence leads the team in sacks, Burns is not far behind. The outside linebacker has lined up on both ends of the line at almost an equal rate this season, so he's likely to see both Panthers tackles on Sunday. Starting left tackle Ikem Ekwonu missed last week's game and unlikely to suit up on Sunday. Backup tackle Brady Christensen played all 50 snaps at LT in Week 9 and allowed four pressures on 29 pass blocks (13.8 percent). On the other side of the line, Taylor Moton has allowed 14 pressures on 238 pass block snaps at right tackle (5.9 percent).
"He's been a good addition for us," Daboll said about Burns. "Good leadership, good player for us. Glad we got him."
Daboll added, "He's a difficult guy to block, good pass rusher and then not knowing the player, called some guys that have coached him in the past when we got him, I was excited we got him."
PREPARING FOR BRYCE YOUNG
Panthers head coach Dave Canales announced on Wednesday that quarterback Bryce Young would get his third consecutive start this weekend in Munich. Young had previously been benched for Andy Dalton, but a thumb injury suffered by the veteran opened the door for the second-year quarterback to reclaim the starting job (at least temporarily).
The Panthers went 2-14 with Young under center as a rookie last year, as he completed 59.8 percent of his passes for 2,877 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His 2024 campaign got off to a similarly rough start, which led to his benching, but Young has looked a lot better over the last two weeks. In that span, he has completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 395 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.
"I thought he was decisive, found ways to get the ball out of his hands, get it to their playmakers," defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said about Young's performance last week. "They've got really good catch and run guys. If they're able to get the ball in their hands in space, they're big, they're strong, they're fast, they're tough to bring down. So, utilizing that, I think their run game, they're doing a really good job running the football, especially on early downs. So just making sure they're going to have complements off of that to help him, to help everybody, to help the offense. So, we've got to make sure we do a good job on early downs and then hopefully we can make them uncomfortable and go from there."
Since entering the NFL last year, Young has been sacked a league-high 72 times and has generated the fewest EPA (-217.8) under pressure, although he showed an improvement in that area in last week's win over the Saints. Despite totaling zero sacks against the Commanders last week, the Giants still lead the league with 35 sacks. Getting pressure on the young quarterback will be key for the Giants, as Young has completed just 42.4 percent of his passes (14 of 33) when pressured this season.
"I think everyone's experience is different in their transition and what they were exposed to in college, and their experience in college and then their experience and situation in the NFL," Jones said about the Panthers' young quarterback. "Everyone's journey is a little bit different. I don't know Bryce great; I've met him a couple times and seems like a guy who works really hard and cares a lot about it. I'm sure he'll get going."
SCOUTING THE REST OF THE PANTHERS
Let's start with the offense, where the Panthers rank 29th in points and 30th in yards on the season, while their 15 turnovers are tied for the third-most. Carolina's also has the league's 29th-best third down offense and 31st-ranked fourth down offense. The Panthers have converted on 63.6 percent of their trips inside the red zone this season, the eighth-best mark in the NFL, although their 22 red zone attempts are tied for the fourth-fewest.
Running back Chuba Hubbard has enjoyed some success in the run game this year. He is averaging 5.0 yards per carry after gaining 665 yards on 133 attempts along with five touchdowns. The veteran has added 26 receptions for 108 yards and an additional score. The Panthers also appear likely to get Jonathon Brooks on the field for the first time this season. The rookie running back has been recovering from a torn ACL suffered last November while playing at Texas. Canales expressed optimism that the second-round pick would make his NFL debut in Munich this Sunday.
Following their trade of veteran wide receiver Diontae Johnson last week, the Panthers have emphasized a youth movement among their pass-catchers. Rookie wideout Xavier Legette leads the team's wide receivers with 26 receptions and four touchdowns, while his 244 receiving yards fall one short of rookie tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders for the most on the team. Legette has caught a touchdown pass in three of the last four games, while Sanders is coming off a season-high 87 receiving yards on four receptions. Undrafted rookie wide receiver Jalen Coker has also totaled six receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown over the last two weeks.
The Panthers' defense ranks last in the league in both points and yards allowed this year. As mentioned earlier in this article, their run defense has given up the most yards and touchdowns in the NFL. Their pass defense has been a bit better, ranking 25th in yards and 28th in touchdowns allowed through the air. Carolina also has the No. 32-ranked third down defense, while their red zone defense comes in at No. 28.
Outside linebacker Charles Harris leads the team with three sacks, while former Giants defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson is right behind him with two. As a team, the Panthers have totaled just 10 sacks through nine games, tied for the second-fewest in the NFL. Harris and Robinson have also combined for 10 of the Panthers' 25 quarterback hits.
The Panthers' secondary is fresh off one of its best outings of the season. Starting cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Michael Jackson both allowed zero receptions as the nearest defender in coverage in last week's win over the Saints. Horn, Jackson and safety Xavier Woods have accounted for the defense's three interceptions in 2024, while Horn and Jackson have a combined 16 passes defensed. The rest of the team has a total of 13 pass breakups.
View photos of the Giants on the practice field at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center.
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